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The Master of Deeplawn. 

“The lad looked eagerly for the reply.” 


Page 5. 


THE 


MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 



MRS. HATTIE E. COLTER 

>1 





PHILADELPHIA 

AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY 

1420 Chestnut Street 



Copyright 1895 by the 

American Baptist Publication Society 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER I 

From Prison Bars, 5 

CHAPTER H 

Endowing a College Chair, 10 

CHAPTER III 

Mr. Dolliver, 22 

CHAPTER IV 

Adam Ross, 32 

CHAPTER V 

Reaping the Whirlwind 41 

CHAPTER VI 

Newfoundland, 53 

CHAPTER VII 

University Life, 72 

CHAPTER VIII 

At Sea 84 

CHAPTER IX 

Anselmo, 105 

CHAPTER X 

With Gun and Rod, 117 

CHAPTER XI 

In the River, 134 

CHAPTER XII 

In the Border Land 148 


3 


4 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XIII 

Home Again, 155 

CHAPTER XIV 

At Deeplawn, 170 

CHAPTER XV 

Farm Laborers, 189 

CHAPTER XVI 

From the Depths, 200 

CHAPTER XVII 

Climbing, 212 

CHAPTER XVIH 

Life at Oxford, 219 

CHAPTER XIX 

Anticipations, 237 

CHAPTER XX 

Wyndhurst, 248 

CHAPTER XXI 

Whitechapel, 260 

CHAPTER XXII 

In Summer Time, 278 

CHAPTER XXIII 

Peeress and Paupers 290 

CHAPTER XXIV 

An Understanding, 307 

CHAPTER XXV 

Betrothal, 314 

CHAPTER XXVI 

Mrs. Dixon’s Suggestions, 321 

CHAPTER XXVII 

The Great Deep, 327 

CHAPTER XXVHI 

The End 345 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


CHAPTER I 

FROM PRISON BARS 

T he night was falling, and its gloomy shad- 
ows began to fill a long and somewhat 
sombre room. That it was a library could be 
seen by a glance at the hundreds of volumes 
lining the walls from floor to ceiling. 

A lad of fourteen lay face downward on a rug 
before the fire, his elbows resting on a huge book, 
whose illuminated pages he had been intently 
studying. The tome was more than a hundred 
years old, and his attention had been directed to it 
by his tutor because of the excellent specimens of 
ancient wood engraving which it contained. He 
had turned page after page with deepening inter- 
est until he was arrested at the eleventh chapter of 
Matthew, where from his cheerless prison John 
sent this question to the Christ: “Art thou he 
that cometh, or look we for another ? ” The lad 
looked eagerly for the reply made by the Master : 


6 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


‘‘ Behold, they that wear soft raiment are in kings’ 
houses.” 

He paused to think and a sudden rush of light, 
in no way related to the murky twilight, filled his 
mind. He had been a studious lad, loving books 
and eager to explore their secrets, but at the same 
time indulging a very decided relish for the lux- 
uries which from his infancy he had found ready 
provided for him. He had only one brother — a 
man grown and out in the great world, eager to se- 
cure his full share of the good things of life in his 
too brief passage through it. Their parents were 
dead, and to each had been allotted the portion of 
worldly goods secured for them by the thrift and 
industry of departed ancestors ; in Alan’s case 
this could not be touched until he came of age, 
save the necessary expenses for suitably bringing 
him up. Reginald, the older brother, decided that 
the safest place for the lad was at his own home, 
under a painstaking tutor. At the schools he had 
himself acquired tastes which, although now 
as much a part of his being as his hands or feet 
and as hard to sever, his inherent good sense con- 
vinced him would better never have been learned. 
He had considerable affection for this younger 
brother, which was returned in full measure, and 
it would have been an exceedingly bitter experi- 
ence to him to have Alan know the life he led 
in its minute particulars. He could remember 


FROM PRISON BARS 


7 


with perfect clearness the gentle mother who had 
so long ago faded out of life, and whose words 
still came to him, at times, with painful distinct- 
ness. 

The maid entered the room with lights, and 
seeing Alan lying so quietly before the fire, fan- 
cied he was asleep and softly withdrew. A mo- 
ment later he lifted the Bible and carried it to the 
table, anxious to find what more had been said by 
this wonderful Christ. He looked again at the pic- 
ture of the rugged prophet gazing upward, beyond 
the prison bars, as if he were reveling once more 
in the freedom of those vast desert solitudes he had 
loved so well, upward to the regions whither his 
spirit was so soon to take its sudden and joyous 
flight. Alan read over again those words, catch- 
ing at once their hidden meaning, and then turned 
back to the third chapter, fascinated by this 
prophet-hero, so indifferent to his housing and 
fare, and who had such power with God and with 
his fellow-men ; and whom afterward Christ pro- 
nounced the peer of the highest. He hunted up 
the marginal references, eager to learn everything 
concerning him, but was disappointed that the 
biographers of that age dealt so sparingly in per- 
sonalities ; and the history ended at the pitiable 
tragedy where the over-scrupulous king kept his 
word at such heavy cost. 

When the dinner bell rang he was still poring 


8 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


over the Bible, and at the table he was so silent 
that his tutor asked if he was not well. His re- 
ply in the affirmative was given in such an ab- 
stracted fashion that his tutor was puzzled to 
know what had come over the lad. It was the 
custom for them to spend an hour together in 
the library every evening, and another hour in the 
gymnasium ; and then, at nine o’clock, Alan re- 
tired. On this particular evening he went direct 
to the table on which he had left the Bible lying 
open, and drawing Mr. Bruee’s attention to the 
prophet, said : 

“ Shall we read to-night about the John whom 
Herod beheaded in the prison ? ” 

“ If you wish. ” 

“ I have been able to find very little about him 
here ; perhaps you can tell me where to look for 
more.” 

“ There is very little to learn save that which 
is given us in the Gospels. That is one great 
drawback with Scripture narratives ; one must 
allow his own imagination to do a good deal of 
filling in. From the character of the people and 
their modes of living one can frequently do this. 
But one often wishes as you do for definite infor- 
mation he cannot get.” 

Mr. Bruee then went to the shelves and seleeted 
several books, but Alan soon found that it was as 
his tutor had said, and there was not much infor- 


FROM PRISON BARS 


9 


mation to be procured ; and hence when their 
hour’s reading ended the best satisfaction Mr. 
Bruce could give him was that he must wait for 
eternity when, with those heroic souls by his side, 
he might learn from their own lips their earthly 
histories. At Alan’s age this period seemed so re- 
mote that there was but small comfort in it. 


CHAPTER II 


ENDOWING A COLLEGE CHAIR 
ETHOUGH lie was disappointed that so 



little could be learned about the desert 
prophet, Alan continued the study of his illu- 
minated Bible with unflagging interest. His 
days were methodically arranged, and had been 
for so long a time, that he scarcely thought of 
questioning his tutor’s right to plan his hours. 
Reginald highly approved of Mr. Bruce’s methods, 
regretting that his own boyhood had not been 
regulated on similar principles, and Alan felt al- 
most as if he had more than he deserved of this 
world’s good things. They dined late, and there 
was always an hour before dinner which belonged 
entirely to him in which to amuse himself as best 
he liked. The maid, whose duty it was to look 
after the fire and lights in the library, confided to 
her fellow-servants her fear that Alan was not 
long for this world. 

“ He spends every bit of his play-hour poring 
over that old Bible,” she declared. “He has it 
on a cushion before the fire, and he lies there 
reading it and studying the pictures just as if he 
didn’t expect to live a year ! ” 


lO 


ENDOWING A COLLEGE CHAIR 


II 


‘‘ IVe known the like before,” the housekeeper 
responded, with an ominous shake of the head. 
“ Boys that’s going to live don’t study their Bibles 
much ; it’s not according to nature.” 

For some time Alan’s health was watched with 
grave anxiety by his household. The servants 
had considerable interest in the matter, since it 
was an exceptionally pleasant house, with light 
work and no interference in their plans by exact- 
ing employers. If he became a victim to an 
early death, the probabilities were that they 
might not get such another congenial situation. 
Mrs. Dixon, the housekeeper, remonstrated with 
him one evening, taking Jane’s place in the library 
for the purpose. 

“ What do you find so interesting in that old 
Bible? Your brother, to my knowledge, never 
read a chapter all by himself in his life, and I 
was here years before he went away to school.” 

Alan looked up with a flush of pain, and re- 
plied : 

“ I am going to speak to Rex about it ; he can’t 
know or he would read it. It is better than all 
the old poets and the modern ones put together ; 
it gives me better thoughts and more of them 
than everything else. I never knew till I was 
reading about John the Baptist what a wonderful 
book it is.” 

He laid the Bible on the library table, and then 


12 


THK MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


continued : “Just come and look at him in prison, 
and I will read what it says about him ; there is 
very little, but I make the rest up in my own 
mind. Here he is in the wilderness. When I 
am a man I am going there; I want to see the 
desert where he lived on locusts and honey ; 
wasn’t he strong to be content with such fare — I 
mean strong-souled ? ” He stood looking down at 
the very unsatisfactory grouping of rocks and 
vast spaces of the desert with shining eyes, see- 
ing them, not as the stolid woman at his side saw 
them, but with his vivid imagination giving tone 
and color to those peaks bathed in the warm 
Syrian sunshine, with the arching blue of the far 
heavens brooding tenderly above them, as when 
John thought with God and walked with him in 
that vanished but majestic past. Then he turned 
the leaves to the place where, by the waterside, 
the multitudes were assembled when the plainly 
robed figure of the Man of Sorrows came among 
them to be baptized of the prophet. He looked 
at it eagerly, as if his eyes had never before rested 
on that illuminated page, and then he passed on 
to the prison scene where John was waiting for 
an answer to his question. It was not merely the 
faded engraving at which Alan gazed ; he saw in 
the eager, questioning look an expectancy for that 
for which prophets and kings had longed, but 
died without seeing. The prison walls and the 


ENDOWING A COEEEGE CHAIR 1 3 

world were forgotten; the joy and wideness of his 
desert life were with him now ; the mystery of his 
own message to the multitudes, its majesty and 
promise were still thrilling his soul. 

“ How grand it is ! ” Alan murmured, with shin- 
ing eyes. 

“ Seems to me it’s a terrible gloomy sort of a 
picture. I’d a sight sooner look at a chromo,” 
was the response. 

The lad looked disappointed, but turned to the 
last picture in the series; there was the same 
calm brow and serene face, with no trace of the 
death-agony, as the head was borne on the platter 
by the shrinking girl to her cruel mother. 

“ People’s hearts in them times was crueller 
than they are now. I am sure if any one belong- 
ing to me had the chance of asking a gift from a 
king, I wouldn’t tell them to ask for a poor 
prisoner’s head, for ’twouldn’t be any earthly use.” 

“ It is men like that who make our world great ; 
no matter how they die, they are living some- 
where,” was Alan’s softly spoken reply. 

“ Oh, yes, I reckon folks keep right on living 
somewhere after they leave here, but it must be 
dreadful uncomfortable getting on without one’s 
body.” 

“ It seems to me that will be one of the luxu- 
ries of dying ; it will be so much easier getting 
around among the other worlds.” 


14 the master oe deepeawn 

“ If I was you I’d not be thinking about them 
things so much. It ain’t natural for young folks.” 
She spoke anxiously a minute later, asking : “ Do 
you ever cough any ? ” 

“ Perhaps I do sometimes, when things go down 
the wrong way,” returned Alan. 

He spoke indifferently, as if the ills of his body 
were of little account. Other duties then claimed 
her attention, and casting an anxious look at the 
lad who had again begun reading, Mrs. Dixon 
left the room. 

Alan was beginning to feel the solitariness of 
his new thoughts. His tutor could converse more 
intelligently on the Bible than Mrs. Dixon, but 
he had no more enthusiasm on the subject. His 
thoughts presently turned to Reginald, and he 
resolved to write to him, asking him to take up 
the study of these great characters depicted in the 
Scriptures, of whom there were so many. What 
a revelation it would be to Rex, after associating 
with the gay folk that, by some fine instinct, Alan 
knew surrounded him, to get acquainted with 
the strong-souled heroes who seemed to him more 
like gods than the quarrelsome, selfish beings 
about whom the old Greek and Latin poets wrote. 
One day he asked Mr. Bruce if it was very ex- 
pensive keeping up a college. The answer was in 
the affirmative. Alan had no idea of the extent 
of his own possessions, so a few days later, after 


ENDOWING A CODDEGE CHAIR 15 

thinking the matter well over, he asked how 
much he himself was worth. 

“You will be a rich man when you attain your 
majority,” was the reply. 

“Will I be able to have a college of my own?” 
“ I scarcely think so ; it takes a great many 
thousands of dollars for that at the present day.” 

lyater on, however, Alan learned that it was pos- 
sible to establish certain chairs in the great uni- 
versities. With his new ideas about the way 
heroes should live he concluded to do this, and 
meanwhile he could himself become a teacher 
and live as cheaply as he liked. Reginald’s reply 
to his letter came duly, and with it the assurance 
that he knew all about the gentlemen referred to, 
and believed them to be excellent, well-meaning 
individuals, but hoped that Alan would not take 
them too seriously, since those who did so were 
apt to become “ cranks,” and were, as a rule, un- 
comfortable sort of people. Alan was bitterly 
disappointed, not so much in his brother’s esti- 
mate of these majestic Hebrews, as in his brother 
himself. There must be something organically 
wrong in a person who was intimately acquainted 
with their lives and words and yet could write 
so indifferently concerning them. It intensified 
his desire to have the boys of coming generations 
better acquainted with their teachings. He was 
sufficiently familiar with classic literature and the 


1 6 THE MASTER OE DEEPLAWN 

usages of those remote times, to know that the old 
heathen to whom was entrusted the training of 
youth, were particularly painstaking in their 
methods of teaching them the worship and study 
of the beings whom they called the immortal gods. 
He grew restless to have his brother home again ; 
it would be so much easier to talk with him than 
to write. He had not a facile pen, and after his 
severest exertions in composition he still felt that 
his best thoughts were unwritten. When his let- 
ter was written and sent it found Reginald in the 
midst of a very exciting love affair, which if ne- 
glected at that critical juncture, might utterly 
fail, so he wrote to say that he had just then a 
matter of very grave importance on hand. Alan 
was rejoiced to hear that he had at last begun to 
take matters seriously. 

To humor the lad’s fancy, Mr. Bruce had per- 
mitted him to take a special course of study in the 
history and literature of the world’s early ages ; 
the Rig Veda of the Brahmins, the Kings of the 
Confucians, the Sutras of the Sikhs, the Zend- 
Avesta of the Parsees, the Tripitaka of the Buddh- 
ists, and others of the most ancient religions, all 
of which he had studied with much the same 
eagerness that average lads absorb the lurid de- 
scriptions of scouts, pirates, and other excrescences 
of literature. He was certainly getting an excel- 
lent foundation laid for Oriental scholarship. As 


ENDOWING A COLLEGE CHAIR 


17 


the long summer days drew on he used to take his 
fishing rod and a book and while waiting for the 
fish to attend to his bait, he would go back forty 
or fifty centuries, and for a while forget that he 
was living in an age of electricity and steam, daily 
papers and politics. 

Deeplawn farm was patterned after the English 
estates. There were several hundred acres of land 
under a high state of cultivation, with laborers’ 
cottages along the road at intervals. There was 
a fine growth of wood, through which a stream of 
water flowed, well stocked with fish ; the water 
in places was quite deep and flowed silently ; in 
others it was shallow, and here Alan liked best to 
do his fishing, for its murmur as it hastened to 
greet the sea had a music of its own. He used 
to speculate about those men of the elder world 
who had possessed little human learning, but to 
whom the book of nature was opened wide, re- 
vealing her heart to them as she does to but few 
in this feverish, discursive age. Men then had 
time to meditate ; they were not forced to glean 
over vast areas ; were not appalled at the threshold 
of knowledge by the amount to be learned, and 
the brief time in which to learn it ; with them it 
was introspection rather than absorption, followed 
naturally by the attempt to create. To-day, with 
our immense equipment of literary lore, no poet is 
able to reach those upper notes touched so natu- 


1 8 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

rally by the poet who wrote the sublime epic called 
Job, and by some stray passages in the Pentateuch, 
the Psalms, and prophecies, which only the lofty 
musical conceptions of the great masters can ex- 
press. It is mainly in this latter way that our 
later generations have been able to utter their 
highest thoughts ; poetry itself fails, and only in 
harmony can expression be found. Forty cen- 
turies hence the wonders of our day, steam, elec- 
tricity, and the multitudinous inventions to which 
they have been applied, will not influence those 
remote peoples as we are influenced by these voices 
from that long-vanished past. Men have gone on 
freighting themselves so heavily with the appli- 
ances of civilization, that thought and fancy are 
forced to the rear, and since life is too brief to secure 
both, most of us choose the former. There may 
be hope that future generations will grow wiser ; 
being surfeited with materialism, they may realize 
that one’s self, independently of his environments, 
is to be looked after first. 

In those long hours of solitude with his books 
and the stories that came down to him from re- 
mote centuries, Alan found a satisfaction as dis- 
tinct from that his brother sought, as the pure air 
of some breezy upland is different from the fever- 
ish atmosphere of the crowded slums. With 
quickened pulses the thought would come to him 
that the age for grand achievements was not gone 


ENDOWING A COLLEGE CHAIR 


19 


forever. Not that he particularly craved to take 
his place in history ; he could live heroically with- 
out so much as a newspaper notice of the fact. If 
he were fitted for such work God would certainly 
not withhold it from him. If men are the archi- 
tects of their own fate, it was a palace and not a 
hovel he wanted to be building day by day. Just 
now the work which he felt called upon to do was 
to fit himself to fight for the Bible, to force upon 
men’s minds their duty in reference to it, and to 
make it as obligatory for college students to study 
the Bible as the classics of Greece and Rome. 
Hitherto he had taken little interest in the Deep- 
lawn tenantry. A lad now and then had been 
selected for playfellow in some of the games dear 
to a boy’s heart, which could not be indulged in 
alone. Now as he studied his Bible there came to 
him a revelation of what life meant, its duties and 
obligations, and he resolved to begin the work 
that lay nearest. Dike reformers generally he 
met with difficulties and in his own household. 
Mrs. Dixon asnred him that their entire staff of 
help were church-members, and in the habit of 
sending a trifle every year to convert the heathen, 
besides supporting their own churches at home. 

“ Surely you did not take us for a pack of 
heathen?” she remarked, with considerable 
warmth. 

“lam doubtful if you are all as good as some 


20 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


of the heathen I read about ; you never once men- 
tioned to me that I could be a better boy if I asked 
God to help me.” 

“ That wasn’t what we were hired here for.” 

He looked at her curiously and then said, in a re- 
flective way, which was particularly exasperating : 

“I think I would rather take their chances 
than yours when mankind are getting judged. 
I do not think either Buddha or Zoroaster would 
have been so indifferent under similar circum- 
stances.” 

“You compare us to them dirty heathen ” 

She paused. Alan, although only a lad of fifteen, 
was more manly than many a one twice his age, 
and it might not be safe to go too far. 

“ It is not too late for you to mend. If any one 
is anxious to do his work well it is never too 
late to begin.” 

“I never expected to see the day that any one 
would throw up to me that I neglected my work. ” 

“You did not understand my meaning. I did 
not mean the trifles which make up your daily 
round here. There is other work that will be going 
on when Deeplawn and the world itself will have 
ceased to be.” 

“You talk like a preacher ; ’twould be curious 
if you’d take to the other extreme from the way 
Mr. Reginald took. I won’t say but what it would 
be a good thing.” 


ENDOWING A COLLEGE CHAIR 


21 


When Alan spoke in a general way she rather 
enjoyed his remarks, but Mrs. Dixon did not rel- 
ish preaching of a directly personal nature when 
sjie comprised the audience. 

“ I am going to try to live as well as some of 
those old heathen who had only shadows to walk 
in where I have clear light.” 


CHAPTER III 


MR. DOLUVER 


HERE was a small chapel at Deeplawn, 



A where ministers of any evangelical church 
were welcome to preach as long as they did not 
interfere with each other’s appointments. For 
the most part the tenants were a church-going 
people, hence there was usually a fair congrega- 
tion to welcome the preacher. It is true they 
sometimes got a mingling of doctrines, but this 
may have been a help, since it broadened the 
sympathies of the listeners when they found that 
in the main the same doctrines were held by all 
the great churches. 

Alan had been in the habit of accompanying 
his tutor into the town on the Ford’s Day, join- 
ing the worshipers in a fine building, with 
stained-glass windows, pipe organ, and the luxu- 
rious appointments usual in a wealthy church ; 
but now he decided to join the humble congrega- 
tion on his own property. It was certainly an act 
of self-denial to forego the exhilarating canter 
into the city on horseback, the mingling with the 
pleasant-looking company of people and listening 
to the eloquent sermon, the saunter in the park 


22 


MR. DOI.I.IVER 


23 


after dinner with his tutor, and then the ride home 
in the evening. Mr. Bruce looked surprised when, 
one bright morning in May, Alan informed him 
that he was going to church with his tenants. 

“ Surely not this morning, above all others, 
when the roadside along the way is one huge 
bouquet of apple blossoms ! It is as good as a 
sermon to pass through them,” he remonstrated. 

“ I am sorry to miss them, but my mind is 
made up. You will please excuse me.” 

Mr. Bruce did not attempt to argue ; he was be- 
ginning to find that what the lad thought was 
his duty he would carry out at any cost. When 
Alan entered the church and glanced around at 
the bare floors and uncushioned seats, he could 
not help speculating what some of the old 
heathen would say to him, if they could step across 
from other worlds, for permitting the worship of 
the immortal gods to be carried on in such rude 
fashion. He forgot to notice the looks of curios- 
ity that greeted him while he began planning im- 
provements that should be entered upon at once. 
As he glanced through the widows he resolved 
there should be no colored glass inserted to shut 
out those delicious glimpses of sky and cloud and 
hilltops. Before one window an adventurous 
apple tree concealed every other view with its 
satin petals and green leaves. Along every stage 
of its unfolding and decay he fancied it would be 


24 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


more a thing of beauty than the figures of the 
stained glass even, with blossom and fruit and the 
bare branches outlined against a wintry sky. 
While the choir sang to the wheezy accompani- 
ment of a reed organ that had long outlived its 
usefulness, he ceased to listen to the sounds that 
jarred discordantly on his ear, but instead watched 
a bird far up in the sky brought out in relief 
against the deep blue. Years after, in the midst 
of keen activities and the world’s din, one of 
memory's most peaceful pictures was the scene he 
looked at that day. The preacher was an old man, 
with silver hair and a face so serene that Alan 
wondered if he had ever come in contact with 
sin and sorrow. There was something in his face 
and bearing which brought vividly to his mind 
the desert prophet. In his prayer there were few 
set phrases, but there was adoration as well as sup- 
plication, and toward the close he broke into joy- 
ous exultation as he referred to the joys awaiting 
God’s hidden ones on the other side of death. 
Alan felt a mist gathering in his eyes as he lis- 
tened. Later on he learned that the aged min- 
ister could count his treasures in another world 
only ; wife and children were all gathered there, ' 
while old and homeless he could still go rejoicing 
on his way. As he preached, Alan felt, as seldom 
before, that the Bible is true, and goodness the 
highest possible attainment for man. After the 


MR, DOLUVER 


25 

benediction he tarried to invite the minister to 
dinner, thinking too, that perhaps he might stay 
and rest at Deeplawn for a few days. Speaking 
to him he noticed that he looked worn and his 
garments were threadbare. The invitation was 
accepted, and as the two walked home through 
the aisle of trees that bordered the path and in- 
terlaced overhead, they were both silent. At 
luncheon Alan asked the aged minister if he 
could not remain over night or perhaps stay a few 
days. The look of pleasure that passed over the 
worn face touched the lad’s heart. 

‘ ‘ It would give me great pleasure to do so. 
I have often looked up at this house and thought 
I should like to be within its walls, but my way 
has lain, for the most part, among humble folk ; 
your people too, belonged to another communion.” 

“ That should make no difference.” 

“No, for we are all children of one Father; I 
thank him that my eyes have been opened to see 
that the difference is very largely in name : ‘ other 
sheep I have which are not of this fold : them 
also I must bring ! ’ ” He quoted the words softly, 
scarce thinking the lad would understand what 
he meant. 

“Who said that?” Alan asked, eagerly. 

“ The Master himself ; so it is true, it is true.” 
He repeated the words as if he found them ex- 
ceedingly comforting. 


26 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

“It may mean all, everywhere among other 
peoples than Christians, who long to live right,” 
Alan suggested, thoughtfully. 

“Yes, all of them. I did not think so once, 
but God has shown me better. I am learning 
that he judges by the heart rather than by the 
knowledge.” 

“lam very glad to hear you say that.” 

“Is it possible that you have begun to think 
about these great problems ? ’ ’ 

The old man bent a keen look on the hand- 
some face opposite, which hitherto he had re- 
garded as somewhat stern and imperious, cer- 
tainly not a youth given to meditating on 
the attractions of theology ; it seemed as if 
nature had intended him for a fighter rather than 
for a dreamer. 

“Are they not the highest questions we can 
study — the most important ? ’ ’ There was an 
added flush on the ruddy cheek as Alan asked 
the question. 

“ Some divines nowadays try to convince us 
that the fall in Eden was a fall upward, but with 
my experience with mankind, I am led to be- 
lieve that we have received a terrible blow some- 
where. I have the effects of it in myself. Our 
true evolution begins when we come back to God ; 
we are away from him — we must be born anew 
to get back to him.” 


MR. DOLIvIVER 


27 


Alan presently broke the silence by a still more 
surprising question. “Was that what Christ 
meant when he said to Nicodemus : ‘ Ye must be 
born again ’ ? ” 

“ Yes.” 

“ I am trying to comply with the requirements 
given by him.” 

“ Who has taught you ? ” was the astonished 
question. 

“No one; I was looking through the Bible 
when I stumbled on the truth.” 

“ It is a most unusual circumstance.” 

“It should not be. I have been studying the 
sacred books of other great religions, giving all a 
fair chance ; but I find the Bible different from all 
the others.” 

“ It was a dangerous experiment for a lad to 
study all those misleading lights.” 

“No; the contrast only drew me the closer to 
our own religion. I have been surprised that men 
should begin doubting because there were mys- 
teries. I like to know there are such. I am not 
anxious to know all things, not even in eternity. 
I want always to be going on in the solution of 
these mysteries but never to overtake all knowl- 
edge.” 

Mr. Dolliver sat watching him with a curious 
intentness. Here surely, he thought, is one for 
whom the Master has some especial work. It did 


28 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


not occur to him that there was any career for 
him except to become a preacher. 

After luncheon Alan took Mr. Dolliver to the 
library. The windows were open to the ground, 
and there floated through them the busy twitter- 
ing of the birds along with the exhalations of the 
apple blossoms. Mr. Dolliver cast a hungry glance 
around the book-lined walls and on the tables 
that stood loaded with current magazines, reviews, 
and newspapers, and then he sank into a leather- 
covered chair with a sigh of deep content. 

“This comes nearest to my ideal of heaven of 
any place I get into save a revival meeting,” he 
remarked, with another leisurely survey of the 
room. “ My young brother, the Lord has been 
very good to you.” 

“Do you not have all the books you want?” 
Alan asked. 

“Oh, no.” He spoke quietly as if that were 
quite out of the question. 

“I fancied whatever else might be wanting, 
preachers would be well supplied with literature,” 
returned Alan. 

“ That has been one of my greatest privations. 
Years ago I did not so much mind going poorly 
clad and not too well fed ; it was the being starved 
mentally, the hunger for what I knew was to be 
had but for my poverty, that grieved me. I have 
grown used to it now ; the end is not far off and 


MR. DOLUVER 


29 


then I shall never know hunger of any kind 
again ; besides God has provided me other fare.” 

“ If you will permit me, I shall see that you 
never want for anything again in this world.” 
Alan spoke modestly ; he seemed timid of offering 
charily. Ministers, of late, no matter of what 
church or quality, had impressed him as a superior 
type of beings. Mr. Dolliver looked at him in a 
puzzled way as he returned, “I do not understand 
your meaning.” 

He could not comprehend that Alan was offer- 
ing him right of way for life in that magnificent 
library, with food and shelter added. 

“ Where do you live ? ” 

“I have no particular home. God has taken 
to himself all my loved ones. I am waiting till 
he bids me come.” 

“ Where do you keep your books and household 
stuff?” 

“ One trunk easily holds my worldly store. I 
have not tried to lay up for myself. God knew 
all about me, so I have given everything I could 
spare to make this a better world; it may be I 
have been unwise, some have told me so, but I 
felt safe to trust him. If no other way is open 
he will make room for me up there.” 

He was gazing calmly up along the blue high- 
way we all instinctively feel leads heavenward. 

“ Won’t you come and stay with me? You can 


30 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

preacli and visit all you wish, but let this be home ; 
we have guest-chambers enough to entertain a 
score of visitors.” 

‘‘ Your friends — what will they say ? I am not 
of your church and only an old man that the world 
holds but lightly.” 

“My brother is the only one to interfere; he 
lets me do just what I like.” 

The tears were stealing down the furrowed 
cheeks while, with lifted eyes, the aged pilgrim 
murmured brokenly his thanks to God ; such a 
lifting of care from his heart could only find re- 
lief in that way. To Alan the spirit world had 
never before seemed so real and the presence of 
the infinite love so close and tender. Mr. Dolliver 
went to church that evening through the mellow 
glow of the sunset, feeling as if just beyond the 
golden western bars the shining of the city’s walls 
where dwelt his loved ones, might almost be seen. 
All the loneliness of life seemed to have fallen 
from him, there was nothing further to dread, and 
God had been faithful to the trust committed to 
him. With a miser’s economy, and the closing of 
his heart against every charity, he could not have 
secured such a home as this in which to go down 
into the valley of old age. He had only craved 
the simplest fare and housing, but the Heavenly 
Father had seen fit to give him something far 
better. 


MR. DOLUVER 


31 


Alan accompanied him, listening to the sermon 
with something of a feeling of proprietary right 
in it, while he would as soon have thought of crit- 
icising the sunshine as the old man’s preaching 
and prayers. 


CHAPTER IV 


ADAM ROSS 


HEN Mr. Bruce came down to breakfast 



V V the following morning he was surprised 
to see a fine, patriarchal face opposite him. 
Alan went through the presentation somewhat 
diffidently, and later on, when he explained to 
his tutor that Mr. Dolliver was not merely the 
guest of a night, but was to remain during the 
rest of his life, Mr. Bruce looked first amused and 
then perplexed. 

“ What will your brother say to such a Quixotic 
arrangement ? ” 

“ It is as much my home as his ; I do not inter- 
fere with his pleasures, and they cost much more 
than mine.” 

“You will not then consult him in the matter ? ” 

“ I’ll mention what I have done, that is all.” 

Mr. Bruce noticed the subtle change that was 
taking place in his pupil — the boyish outlines 
were developing into a vigorous strength, fore- 
shadowing a manhood with fixed purpose. 

Gradually they grew into the habit of consider- 
ing Mr. Dolliver as much a member of the fam- 
ily as if he had always been there ; the servants 


ADAM ROSS 


33 


all liked him, and were as ready to welcome him 
back from his pilgrimages as Alan himself, for he 
still continued to go from place to place, visiting 
the sick and neglected and preaching to all who 
would come to hear him. He was not calculated 
to draw crowds with his preaching, and he used 
to say that in one way the Master could not sym- 
pathize with some of his messengers, for the 
people had listened to him gladly, themselves 
making the preaching appointments by throng- 
ing in such crowds to his remote hiding-places 
that he was compelled to speak to them. 

Mr. Dolliver had never thought of ceasing to 
preach because of his slender congregations, and a 
score of listeners would make him content. He 
was falling now into the gentle childhood of 
the aged Christian, which sometimes comes when 
the storms of life are over and God lets them 
rest awhile before entering upon the splendid ac- 
tivities of immortality. It was only natural that, 
as he went his rounds in the pony carriage drawn 
by the steady horse Alan had provided him, he 
should make frequent and enthusiastic men- 
tion of the lad who was becoming almost more 
than a son to him. He did not spend much of 
his time at Deeplawn. He would come driving 
home with a beaming face from a long round of 
preaching in neglected places, apparently very 
glad to get back to his books and home, stay a 


34 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


few days, and then with the same happy look on 
his face start out again. 

Mr. Bruce would unbend on these occasions 
from his usual dignified indifference to rural mat- 
ters to listen to the old man’s stories. He had 
few complaints to make, but seemed to have a 
faculty for drawing out what good there was in 
people, while he thought so little of himself in 
reference to his work that it was much the same 
to him whether he was tre'ated with honor or the 
reverse. Alan used to listen to him with glowing 
eyes, while the heroes of the older world seemed 
to look at him out of that dim face. 

And so the days wore on until three years ‘ had 
gone. During that time Reginald had made two 
flying visits home, for the place was so dull that a 
single night there was to him an act of penance. 
Alan never urged him now to come, for he had 
awakened to the reality : his brother, who used to 
be the hero of his boyhood, now impressed him 
as devoid of a single heroic characteristic ; this 
discovery had been a grief more bitter than death 
to the high-principled youth. 

Reginald made his appearance again very un- 
expectedly one bright June day. Mr. Bruce and 
Alan had planned a pedestrian tour in the Adiron- 
dacks, and Alan was still boy enough to be an- 
ticipating the trip with great satisfaction. Mr. 
Dolliver was at home for the first time when Regi- 


ADAM ROSS 


35 


nald was there, and he was surprised not to meet 
him at the dinner table, while he wondered that 
a robust young man should be so overcome by a 
day’s travel as to be compelled to take his bed. 
He dressed the following morning with unusual 
care, for he had a little natural anxiety about 
meeting the head of the house, but to his surprise 
when he went down to the breakfast room he 
found as usual only Mr. Bruce and Alan. 

“ Is your brother sick ? ” he asked. 

“ I do not think he is,” was Alan’s brief reply. 

The servants came in to prayers after breakfast, 
and then each went about the day’s accustomed 
tasks, while Mr. Dolliver betook himself to the 
library with an anxious mind. He felt in the 
very atmosphere that there was trouble, and that 
too, in some way connected with Reginald’s home- 
coming. He had always found the best antidote 
for trouble to be to aid some one more troubled. 
Mrs. Dixon had mentioned to him the unhappy 
case of an old ditcher living near, who was sick 
and alone. He took his hat and cane and started 
out in the bright sunshine for old Adam Ross’ 
cottage. It was doubtful if he would be admitted, 
since he had several times attempted to get in, 
but had been always repulsed. Adam Ross hated 
nearly everything, and if he had any pet dislike 
it was for ministers of the gospel. Mr. Dolliver 
had taken some nourishing food from Mrs. Dixon 


36 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

as a sort of peace offering. He found a desperate 
state of affairs at the cottage when he arrived. 

Adam had been alone for a day or two with 
scarcely strength to reach for a drink of water 
from the table at his bedside. Mr. Dolliver 
knocked, but did not wait for an invitation to 
enter, and pushed boldly in. The sight that met 
his view was a pitiful one : the haggard face on 
the pillow, the disordered room, and swarms of 
flies holding undisputed possession in the close 
atmosphere. 

“ I thought I was going to be left to die here 
like a rat in a hole,” was the first querulous greet- 
ing. 

‘^The I^ord was better to you than you ex- 
pected.” 

“It’s never much good I’ve got from anybody ; 
but make haste and fetch me some fresh water. 
I’ve not had bite nor sup of anything but this 
drop of stale water since day before yesterday.” 

Mr. Dolliver hastened to the well and brought 
in a jug of cold water. The sick man took a 
deep draught and then sank heavily back on his 
pillow. “That does taste good,” he murmured, 
with something like gratitude. 

“ Will you have something to eat now ? ” Mr. 
Dolliver asked, after he had opened door and win- 
dows, and with considerable exertion and the aid 
of a newspaper lessened the number of flies. 


ADAM ROSS 


37 

“ If I had anything fit to eat I wouldn’t mind 
trying. ’ ’ 

The self-appointed nurse wiped a plate and 
emptied the basket ; there were jellies, cold 
chicken, thin slices of bread and butter, and other 
delicacies. Adam’s face brightened as he saw the 
good things. 

“ Now, if I had a cup of tea, with some of that 
cream in it, I’d be quite set up,” he remarked, 
with unwonted amiability. Mr. Dolliver kindled 
the fire and set the tea to steep. He was unac- 
customed to such efforts, and burned his fingers. 
He did not mind such trifles, however, in his 
satisfaction at finding Adam so complacent. 
When all was satisfactorily prepared, Mr. Dolliver 
carried the food to the sick man. 

“ I’m not a beggar, that folks need to send 
victuals to me. No doubt you begged them for 
me,” Adam grumbled. 

“ They will taste just as good as if your own 
money bought them, or as if you had created them 
yourself and not been beholden to the Dord for 
these things and everything else you have ever 
had.” Adam winced at that, for it had ever been 
his boast that he was never indebted to any one 
for what he had. 

When he had finished his breakfast he lay down 
wearily and closing his eyes, said: “Now you’ll 
be wanting to pray after all you’ve done for me, 


38 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

and I won’t be so unneigliborly as to shut your 
mouth.” 

Mr. Dolliver took no notice of the remark, but 
began to clean the untidy room, the keen eyes 
opening and watching him half-fiercely from the 
bed. When the work was done to his satisfaction 
he took a chair to rest, meanwhile looking around 
triumphantly at his housekeeping exploits. 

“I never knew that women’s work was so 
hard,” he remarked, wiping the great beads of 
perspiration from his face. “It always looked 
easy, to watch them at it ; my dear wife would 
have done this work in half the time it took me, 
and kept her face dry into the bargain. Women 
are a wonderful gift to men,” he added, re- 
flectively. 

“ I always kept clear of women folks ; it didn’t 
seem fair for me to have to support another man’s 
daughter.” 

“ That is just where we differed ; it did not 
seem honest to take a young woman just when 
she was of an age to be useful to her parents and 
have her all to yourself, not giving anything in 
return. I used to think the savage nations had 
truer ideas of honesty in the matter than civilized 
people.” 

Adam turned uneasily in bed, and for the first 
time it occurred to him that he might have made 
some mistakes in life it was now too late to 


ADAM ROSS 


39 


rectify. He wished the minister would pray, for 
he had an idea it would lessen his obligation. 
Ministers, he had been accustomed to think, were 
very thankful for an opportunity to pray with 
folks ; and yet he did not like to make the request 
again, for it seemed too much like dying for him 
to be too anxious about such matters. Mr. Dol- 
liver sat chatting with him, while several times 
Adam felt an uncomfortable moisture coming into 
his eyes, and every time his visitor arose to drive 
out the flies he seized the opportunity to make 
use of a corner of the quilt for a pocket-handker- 
chief. He wondered too, why the old man stayed 
so long when apparently he had no idea of con- 
verting him. At last Mr. Dolliver arose to go. 

“ It is nearly time for luncheon up at the house. 
Young Mr. Reginald is at home and I am anxious 
to meet him.” 

“As far as I can make out, he’s a poor lot,” 
Adam declared, his face brightening at the pros- 
pect of a bit of gossip. “The young chap is 
worth past count of him.” The grieved look on 
the minister’s face surprised him ; why he should 
be so affected by the shortcoming of another was 
quite beyond his comprehension. 

“One never can believe these flying rumors, 
especially about the rich, for people are apt to 
envy them.” 

“ You can believe what I’m telling you. I don’t 


40 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

run the risk of saying what I don’t know, for 
truth, and getting myself fetched up for libel, 
only when I’m certain of it,” Adam said, defen- 
sively. 

Mr. Dolliver turned the conversation abruptly, 
promising to come down again after luncheon 
with some medicine and beef tea. 

“I have done a good deal of doctoring in my 
time,” he remarked, by way of recommending 
himself; “I have tried to save poor people’s 
pockets as well as their lives in that way.” 

“I guess you are pretty good, if you are a 
preacher,” Adam acknowledged, thereby making 
a concession which, if Mr. Dolliver had known 
him better, would have sent him on his way re- 
joicing. 

Adam Ross did not die under Mr. Dolliver’ s 
treatment and nursing. With the aid of a fine con- 
stitution, he came around as well as ever, and not 
his bodily health alone was benefited. Soon 
another sitting was taken in the little church, and 
after that Mr. Dolliver had no firmer friend at 
Deeplawn than Adam Ross, the ditcher. 


CHAPTER V 


REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 
T luncheon Mr. Dolliver was presented to 



Reginald. A cold bow was his only re- 
sponse to his oflfers of friendliness, while Mr. Bruce 
sat in dignified silence. Reginald sat creasing his 
napkin and, with a manner that struck the old 
man as sullen, refused to take anything on the 
table. Near the close of the meal he gave a low- 
spoken order to the servant which Alan immedi- 
ately countermanded. 

“ Do you think you are the only master here?’’ 
Reginald asked hotly. 

“ I am, in some matters.” 

Mr. Dolliver could scarcely believe it was Alan’s 
voice that uttered the words, for he had never 
heard him speak with such authority to the low- 
est servant on the place. They arose from the 
table in silence and Reginald turned to Mr. Bruce, 
saying haughtily: 

“ I should like a few words with you and my 
brother in the library.” Mr. Bruce bowed his as- 
sent and the three left the room. 

“ Isn’t it a pity, sir, to see a fine young man 
like that going to the bad?” the maid who had 


42 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


waited on tliem at table asked respectfully. “ Did 
you see be never tasted a bite of dinner and he 
bid me fetch him the brandy, but Mr. Alan forbid 
me ; he’s a wonderful young man, and Mr. Regi- 
nald is afraid of him, for all he puts on such a bold 
front.” 

Mr. Dolliver left the room hastily. The day- 
was proving to be one of the most trying in his 
experience. 

“ It is not my world, but God’s,” he murmured 
at last, after some hours of painful thinking in his 
own room. “ He loves and pities men far more 
than we can do, and I am sure that some day right 
will triumph.” 

When the dinner bell rang he went down re- 
luctantly, for he fancied his presence was distaste- 
ful to Reginald, while there came into his heart 
a longing for that home where his loved and lost 
were waiting for him. But perhaps there was 
still some work for him to do before he left the 
world or, sadder thought, he might not himself be 
ready to enter that sinless world. 

Alan’s face wore a sadder expression than Mr. 
Dolliver had ever seen upon it before. Tater on 
the good man learned that there had been a stormy 
interview that afternoon in the library. Reginald 
had come to Deeplawn prepared to take strong 
measures with his brother to secure his own pur- 
poses, but he found to his chagrin that he had 


REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 


43 


soinetliiiig harder than he anticipated in bending 
the lad’s will. As he looked in his brother’s face 
opposite him at the table an expression of bitter 
hatred convulsed the once handsome features. 
He had staked his last dollar and was now penni- 
less, save for the joint ownership of Deeplawn, 
which he could not touch without Alan’s consent, 
and even then the estate could not be disposed of 
until Alan came of age; but the house could be 
shut, all the servants and farm hands discharged, 
and the place rented for a term of years while 
Alan was at college. The interview ended with- 
out getting the promise of a single dollar, save the 
money to pay a comrade who had loaned Reginald 
sufficient to bring him to Deeplawn. Mr. Bruce 
had been amazed at Alan’s self-restraint under his 
brother’s cruel taunts, accusing him of selfishness 
and lack of natural affection, and sneers at Chris- 
tians generally and himself in particular. Alan 
turned on him at last, his face white with the re- 
straint of controlled passion : 

“ I would give every dollar I am worth, and you 
know it, Rex, if it would make you an honest, 
temperate man. But I shall not give a cent to 
keep you in your present condition.” 

Dosing all control of himself, Reginald struck 
out fiercely at Alan, but Mr. Bruce thrust him 
aside, somewhat breaking the force of the blow ; 
but the lad’s shoulder was lame for weeks. 


44 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


“ Will you promise never to repeat that of- 
fense ? ” 

Reginald cowered at the blaze of wrath in his 
brother’s eyes, but made no reply. 

“ Oh, Rex, what will you become, if you go on 
like this ! ” the younger brother added. His anger 
died out and only pity and a supreme desire to 
save his brother at whatever cost, filled his heart. 
As he stood looking at the marred face, a conver- 
sation with Mrs. Dixon some months before came 
vividly to his remembrance. She laid all the 
blame of Reginald’s ruined life on the university 
where he had gone at eighteen years of age. ‘ ‘ Be- 
fore that,” she had said, “ he was as good a boy as 
one could wish to live with ; he scarcely knew the 
taste of liquor, and as for cards, he cared nothing 
for them, but said they were only fit to pass away 
the time of feeble-minded men and women ; but 
the next year when he came home I saw a great 
change in him, his clothes smelled scandalously 
of tobacco, and when I unpacked his trunk I 
found several packs of cards, some with gilt edges 
that he had when he went to parties, and others 
that were a sight more worn than the books that he 
studied out of. I didn’t tell your father for he was 
very stern and Reginald begged me not to betray 
him. Before he came back the next year your 
father had met with the accident that so soon 
ended his life, and after that there was nobody I 


REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 


45 


could go to. I’ve thought a hundred times that 
if I was rich I’d hesitate long before I would send 
a boy to college, but perhaps they are not all 
alike.” 

“ Most of the young men who go to college are 
not ruined,” Alan had returned, “and those who 
are would most likely fall anyway.” 

“ I asked him once if they all did like him, and 
he said there were some ‘muffs’ who did nothing 
but study, and they were a dry lot.” 

“ They are the ones that take care of our 
world.” 

“ I expect so. I asked him if the teachers 
didn’t look after them. He said, of course they 
did ; gave them lectures ever so many times a 
week and examined their papers ; but I concluded 
if they’d given them some thrashings, and exam- 
ined their morals, ’twould have been better. Seems 
to me if women had the care of colleges they’d 
look after the young folks better than the perfes- 
sors, as he calls the schoolmasters. I always had 
a good opinion mostly of perfessors, but I’ve lost 
all conceit of that kind.” 

“ Your loss is small compared with theirs.” 

“I’ve always advised him on no account to let 
you go to such wicked places, but I don’t think 
they’d hurt you any now.” 

Alan had received Mrs. Dixon’s compliment 
with a sober face. She soon interrupted the pain- 


46 


THE MASTKR OF DEEPFAWN 


ful reverie into which he had fallen by saying : 
“It seems curious that they don’t take warning 
from each other ; he told me once that there were 
those who went to the bad every year, or if they 
graduated, were dependent on their rich relations. 
I know things might be regulated better. There 
was a time when prisoners and slaves and such 
like were looked after, but rich men’s sons go to 
the bad without anybody noticing.” 

Alan assured her they were not such a ne- 
glected class as she supposed. 

“Well, there’s a screw loose somewhere. I’m 
only an ignorant woman, I never parsed a sentence 
of grammar in my life, but there’s things we can 
find out without grammar. Why, I’ve thought 
as I looked over your brother’s things, and made 
out as well as I could, his bills and ‘ billy duxes,’ 
for I made it a p’int to read every scrap of 
writing I could make out, though I never let on 
to him — as I say, I’ve thought time and again, 
before I’d leave a pile of money to my children, 
I’d give it all away to some good object, the 
heathen or something of that kind.” 

As this conversation came vividly to his mind 
Alan felt a great wave of pity for the brother who 
once was so tender and true, but had been stolen 
from him by evil associates. To Reginald’s 
consternation he went to his side, and taking the 
hand that had struck at him a few moments 


REAPING THE WHIRLWIND 47 

before he said : Won’t you turn over a new leaf 
even yet, Rex? God will help you.” 

The only answer was a muttered oath as he 
bade him keep his cant to himself. Alan turned 
away hopelessly, while he too muttered : “ That 
will not be all that I shall keep.” 

A moment after he went to the table and wrote 
a few lines, handing the paper to Reginald ; a 
gleam of fierce hatred shot from his eyes as he 
scanned the paper, then he turned hastily and left 
the room. 

“ I shall make my will at once, or is the will of 
a minor legal? ” 

I am afraid not,” was Mr. Bruce’s reply. 

“ Is there no way I can dispose of my property 
in case of death?” 

“ It is doubtful if there is.” 

“Then law sadly needs reforming. I should 
like every contingency provided for.” Mr. Bruce 
understood his meaning ; the same hand that had 
dealt the blow might not fail in its next attempt. 

“ I am not versed in legal lore, but I think you 
might do this: make a will bequeathing what 
you possess to your brother, but appoint ad- 
ministrators, allowing him only a certain sum 
yearly ; you could stipulate any amount you 
thought safe.” 

“I shall go into the city at once, to-morrow, 
for everything shall, if possible, be settled. After 


48 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


that I shall have one care less, but I would like 
to live longer.” He glanced through the open 
window to the fields and hills he had looked at 
from childhood, never with such a heavy heart as 
at that moment. 

“ You might pacify your brother by giving him 
a generous allowance. You will even then have 
more than you are in the habit of spending from 
your yearly income.” 

“ Money is not the question. If I had an in- 
come of millions I would not do it. What I want 
is to save him. This man, you see, is not my 
brother, but a ruin — alcohol and sin combined, 
with some small shred of manhood remaining, 
perhaps. I will keep him here, and if possible 
save him. You will not leave me until I have 
learned what you can teach, if I ever can.” 

Mr. Bruce knew the sacrifice was vastly greater 
than any pecuniary -one could be that he might 
make for his brother; not only the pedestrian 
excursion they were to have taken during the 
holidays but after that the college course, a very 
wide one, of which he had already elected the 
studies, and which would take six or eight years 
to complete, must be relinquished. Many a talk 
had they indulged in on the subject as they 
trudged together on their long holiday excursions, 
for Alan had been a firm believer in the wisdom 
of the old philosophers who taught their pupils in 


reaping the whirlwind 49 

the open air. He was determined to imitate 
those heroic sages who despised luxurious living, 
but thought nobly. The result was that at 
eighteen he could stand the strain of severe study 
or physical exertion that few at twenty-five could 
endure. In size and strength he was now more 
than a match for his brother, thanks to a pure 
mind in a well-trained body. 

He left the house without speaking to any one, 
for he had an instinctive feeling that what he was 
anxious to do must be done quickly, if at all. 
Mr. Dolliver went to Alan’s room that afternoon, 
for he felt anxious about his boy and made, as an 
excuse for his visit, the need of having something 
done for old Adam. The door was slightly ajar 
and as he glanced in, he was surprised to see Reg- 
inald standing by the dressing table with a small 
vial and glass in his hand. He heard the door 
move and glancing fiercely around ordered Mr. 
Dolliver from the room — a command the old 
gentleman obeyed very promptly ; but he went 
at once in search of Mr. Bruce, for something in 
Reginald’s manner made him feel anxious for 
Alan’s safety. When he made his communication 
he was surprised at the very grave look in the 
tutor’s face. 

“ I will see what he has been about as soon as 
I am certain he has gone to his own room. To- 
morrow you will probably know everything.” 

D 


50 THE MASTER OF DEEPRAWN 

After dinner Mr. Dolliver was sitting in his 
own room, when a tap at the door disturbed the 
reverie into which he had fallen. He thought at 
once of Reginald, but opened the door to admit 
whomever it might be. To his relief Mr. Bruce 
stood before him, but with such a grave, pale face 
that he started back in alarm. 

“ Is something wrong with the lad ? ” he asked. 

Mr. Bruce entered and, closing the door, re- 
plied : “I have found poisoned water in Alan’s 
room ; it was poured from the bottle you saw in 
Reginald’s hand.” 

“Are you sure it was poison ? ” 

“ Yes, I have submitted it to a careful analysis ; 
it is a most powerful and deadly poison. You 
will be willing to testify that you saw Reginald 
by the table with a bottle and tumbler ? ” 

“ Certainly.” The old man’s nerves were ter- 
ribly shaken, but he kept himself under rigid 
control. 

“We shall have evidence now to put him where 
he will not attempt such a crime again.” 

“In prison? ” 

“ It will be useless to mention that to Alan ; 
but, fortunately, there are asylums where such 
persons can be placed. A term of confinement 
may be the best possible discipline for him.” 

“I doubt if Alan will consent even to that 
much punishment for his wayward brother.” 


REAPING THE WHIREWIND 


51 


“ Fortunately it will be beyond his power to 
prevent it. I am going to follow him at once to 
the city. I shall get a couple of the tenants to 
stay here for the night, as I feel certain Reginald 
is insane.” 

Mr. Bruce returned a little later with two stal- 
wart farmers, but he had not been gone from the 
house very long when the watchers had enough 
to do at times to keep Reginald in his room. 
Some one suggested that it was delirium tremens, 
but Michael Flynn remarked that he had seen too 
many cases of the doldrums to be mistaken. Regi- 
nald’s one desire seemed to be to make away with 
his brother and get possession of his property. 

Mr. Dolliver shrank back appalled at times. 
Michael Flynn interposed : “ You are too ould a 
man to be losin’ yer slape ; besides it’s no place 
for the loiks av you to be listenin’ to the oaths 
and curses. I’m used to ’em meself, for I was in 
a tavern for years afore I cum here ; it seems like 
ould times to be a-listenin’ to the remarks av the 
poor crayther.” 

“You must be very thankful for the change,” 
was Mr. Dolliver’s response ; and he followed it up 
with some words that Michael never forgot. 

After a while Mr. Dolliver left the room, when 
Michael became unusually thoughtful. “It was 
no manner av use for me to be talkin’ wid the 
ould gintleman; the clargy, av course, can talk 


52 the master of deepeawn 

better nor the loikes av us, but he do be sayin’ 
very unsettlin’ things. ’Twould be a good thing if 
a poor sowl was sure what was the thrue faith ; 
heretics do seem to have more luck nor us. 
’Twould be too bad if they made out better for 
both worlds.” 

“ Maybe we’d better stick to our own faith, we 
can’t be sure, anyway,” his mate said, slowly. He 
was an easy-going creature not given to perplex- 
ing speculations about anything. 

Reginald was growing restless again, and soon 
all theological problems were driven from their 
thoughts by the question how they were to con- 
trol the man whom they were set to watch. 

When Alan and Mr. Bruce reached home the 
next day, steps were immediately taken to place 
Reginald under the care of medical experts. Alan 
would feel less anxiety about his brother while 
confined in an asylum than he had done for many a 
month before. He cherished the hope that rea- 
son might be restored after the system had under- 
gone such a change that the craving for liquor 
might possibly be removed. 


CHAPTER VI 


NEWFOUNDI^AND 

TN planning their pedestrian tour Alan was 
eager to go out of the beaten tracks and 
to get in touch with elementary things. For 
a while every place suggested by Mr. Bruce pre- 
sented some drawback, the greatest in every case 
being the probability of meeting the tourists who 
were going over the same ground. 

After some weeks Newfoundland was suggested, 
with a possible trip to Labrador in case the for- 
mer should not be solitary enough. Alan was 
delighted with the proposition, stipulating for an 
Indian who could guide them through those in- 
land solitudes, where they could enjoy as abo- 
riginal a style of living as is possible in this age 
of steam and electricity. He was quite indiffer- 
ent about the commissariat department, permit- 
ting Mr. Bruce to order whatever supplies he him- 
self desired, for he expected to furnish himself, by 
gun and rod, with all the fish, flesh, and fowl that 
he desired, without any dependence upon the 
doubtful contents of the tin cans. He took very 
few books, for he remembered that the old Chal- 
dean and Greek poets were not cumbered with 

53 


54 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


their scrolls when they journeyed through primi- 
tive forests with no other guide-marks than the 
stars. 

The travelers reached St. John’s early in July. 
The trip itself had been positive rapture to Alan, 
as it was, in the first place, such a relief to get 
away from the haunting memories of Deeplawn, 
and too, it was his initial experience of the ocean. 

In a while he was strongly tempted to give up 
his college course and make his home on the sea, 
for workers were needed there as much as in uni- 
versity chairs. 

After making all necessary purchases at St. 
John’s and securing the services of a trusty guide, 
they jubilantly started on a sailing packet for the 
north. Alan certainly found matters primitive 
enough when he swung in his hammock in the 
cabin, or sat at a table innocent alike of paint or 
linen, and ate his dinner off the cheapest earthen- 
ware and drank a wretchedly poor quality of tea 
from a yellow bowl. The codfish and halibut, 
however, were fresh, the pork scraps were sweet, 
the potatoes that came to the table in their jack- 
ets were white and mealy, and the sea biscuits 
comparatively fresh ; besides he was not tempted 
to eat after his hunger had been appeased, which 
was a gain over a higher civilization. 

The wind was fair and they bounded along 
cheerily. The sailors, who were also fishermen, 


NEWFOUNDI.AND 


55 


were very anxious to make the voyage agreeable 
to the travelers. The slight difference between 
officers and men existed only in name, for no one 
of them could either read or write. Mr. Bruce 
frequently assured them he would be much better 
pleased either to have them keep in sight of land, 
or submit the navigation of the ship to him — a 
proposition which the skipper, notwithstanding 
his desire to please the gentlemen, received very 
dubiously. 

They reached Bonavista, however, in safety, 
and there took leave of the crew, and the follow- 
ing day, with Gabe, their Indian guide, started 
inland with their canoes and stores. Gabe was 
not very certain about his name. He knew that 
it had been suggested by the priest at his christen- 
ing, but, unfortunately, his mother had forgotten 
the rest, if there had been any more. He was, 
however, very certain that he had been named for 
some one in the heavenly places, and he was per- 
fectly content with the cognomen, believing that 
if it were good enough for use there, it must be 
also for him. The man proved an interesting 
problem to Alan. He was quick in motion, sharp 
in vision and was, like his race, laconic ; not be- 
cause his vocabulary was limited, but that he dis- 
liked to talk ; but what he may have lacked in 
speech he more than made up in more valuable 
qualities, closeness of observation, a capacity to 


56 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

marshal all his forces at a second’s notice, nerves 
of steel, and a courage that never wavered 
under most exciting or dangerous circumstances. 
Alan at once began to study this son of the forest, 
wondering if he did not resemble those men of 
the older world who, like him, were untrained in 
the schools, but whose faculties were developed in 
other ways. lyike them, he studied the heavens, 
read the signs of a coming storm long before the 
two representatives of a higher civilization could 
see any trace of nature mustering her forces to 
work them inconvenience, while it was impossible 
to puzzle him as to their whereabouts, as long as 
the sun or stars were visible. He appeared to be 
well acquainted with the habits of every feathered 
inhabitant of the forest, and his knowledge of 
other woodland life was equally extensive. 

One day, as Alan sat with Mr. Bruce by an in- 
land stream fighting black flies and pulling up 
from the brown depths splendid trout, he said : 

“ Gabe is just as profound a student as any of 
us.” 

“ How do you make that out ? ” 

“We have studied from books and have assimi- 
lated, for the most part, other men’s thoughts, while 
he has gone direct to nature and there studied God’s 
thoughts, which have given him a freshness that 
most of us lack. He is a real man ; there is the 
stuff in him out of which a score of dudes could 


NEWFOUNDLAND 


57 


be transformed into average men, with all the 
manliness they could stand and still retain their 
‘butterfly’ proclivities.” 

“You are hard on the poor fellows.” 

‘ ‘ I have cause to be. If Rex had been with 
Gabe six months of the year out in these whole- 
some solitudes, he would not be where he is now.” 
It was the first time Alan had spoken of his 
brother since the day they had carried him from 
Deeplawn, and the bitterness with which he spoke 
proved that the wound had not yet healed. 

“ There seems to be a law of compensation run- 
ning through life. Those on the lowest rounds of 
the social ladder, like Gabe, who scarcely realize 
that they are made out of the same material as 
their rulers, have joys, and very keen ones too, 
that their superiors know nothing about.” 

“Gabe certainly has,” Alan asserted with de- 
cision. “ I have seen his nostrils dilate and his 
eyes flash with a very superior kind of compla- 
cency as he steered us skillfully through the rapids, 
or brought down a bird as it sailed heedlessly 
through the blue — a. feat of skill, by the way, 
which few of our prize marksmen could perform, 
and showing the steady nerve and perfect vision 
of the man.” 

“That is mere physical prowess,” Mr. Bruce 
remarked. 

“It only goes to prove, however, that he has 


58 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

the ability our university crews hold as high, I 
fancy, as they do intellectual power. Besides, 
Gabe has other skill than that of mere nerve and 
vision.” 

” You do not meditate reverting to an aboriginal 
state, I hope.” 

‘ ‘ Not quite, ” was the reply. “ But it is superb, 
this getting away from men and towns. I did 
not think I could ever be so light-hearted again ; 
and even now I get almost ashamed of myself 
that I seem to forget where Rex is and what he 
is. But the world does seem so free and pure out 
here that it makes me forget the wrecks. If I 
could only get Rex out here with Gabe. 

“ I have talked with him about it and he says 
he would not be afraid to spend a summer with 
him in the woods. He says too, that there is 
nothing like the smell of the earth where men’s 
feet have never trod to bring one back to health 
of body as well as mind.” 

“You must remember that Gabe is still very 
much of a savage, with all the fascination of un- 
trodden places strong upon him. We may 
apostrophize this sort of life and nature’s untrained 
energy, and it is all very well to come back to 
such primitive ways for a few weeks out of the 
year, but civilization is incomparably superior.” 

“ What has civilization done for Rex? ” 

“We must not judge the whole by a few 


NEWFOUNDLAND 


59 


extreme cases. There are drunken Indians as 
degraded as the worst specimens of civilization.” 

“Would there have been had they not first 
come in contact with us? Give these primitive 
races our religion and everything that elevates 
us, keeping from them our vices — what then ? ” 

“ Do the same for our white races and I believe 
you would develop a finer type. It is no use, 
however, for there can in this world be only in- 
dividual excellence ; the tares and wheat must 
grow together till the final harvest, and each is at 
liberty to elect which he will be. I do not doubt, 
however, that this fact will greatly increase the 
reward of those who receive their Maker’s ap- 
proval at the final adjustment of rewards.” 

‘‘ The true Christian does not work for reward, 
here or hereafter,” Alan said softly. 

“There are not many, I fear, of that variety; 
but it strikes me that you have the making of 
such a one. Though I am your teacher, I must 
confess to you that you have caused me more con- 
science pricks than the parsons ever did. I can 
listen calmly to preaching — we are used to that ; 
but you have lived, and I have watched you 
closely. Possibly I may forget all these impres- 
sions when we are separated, or I may become 
one of your sort. I am just now much like a 
chip on the tide, carried whichever way the 
current wills. 


6o THK MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

“ You can never be that ; fate is an exploded 
theory and we are all free agents ; but it will 
make a great difference to you which way yon 
steerd’ 

It was not easy for Alan to talk on such subjects 
to his teacher, and a word dropped now and then 
may have been all the more effective on that 
account. They sat on the bank silently drawing 
in the rainbow-tinted trout, until at last Alan 
exclaimed : 

“ It is positive murder for us to fish longer. ’ We 
have more here now than we can possibly eat, 
unless we confine ourselves exclusively to a trout 
diet.” He reeled his line as he spoke and sat 
watching Mr. Bruce, who was prolonging the bliss 
of angling by playing with the trout on his hook. 

“ If this were not such an out-of-the-way place, 
we could supply our friends all over the Union 
with trout and game,” Mr. Bruce muttered, as he 
took the trout at last from the hook and followed 
Alan’s example. 

“ If we could bring an entire charity school here 
from the slums of one of our great cities, we could 
fish to our heart’s content. Do you think we 
could manage it?” Alan asked his question 
eagerly. 

“It would involve a great deal of care, together 
with considerable expense,” was the tutor’s reply. 

“It would pay us though. Just fancy those 


NEWFOUNDLAND 


6l 


hungry little wretches let loose under these trees 
for a couple of months ! The game laws, I believe, 
do not reach inland so far as this, and they could 
have all the fowl and fish they wanted.” 

“ Boys would soon tire of such diet.” 

“Certainly; we should have other things of 
course, canned food and biscuits, if nothing else. 
But what a revelation it would be to them ! They 
might grow to love nature so well they would 
elect a life in the country when they became men. 
Anything that helps coming generations to find 
homes in the country, is money very well applied. 
I don’t care particularly how I spend my money, 
so that I help others ; the poor need it as much 
as the university students I planned to help when 
I was a mere boy.” 

“That is not the orthodox way for reformers. 
They must choose their work and then stick to it.” 

“ I am not committed to anything, except that 
I must do my own work now and Rex’s as well.” 

“Is that possible? I fancy we must each do 
our own work or have it go forever undone. How 
is it, Alan, that you give me such uncomfortable 
views about these matters and rob me of the 
charm of idleness that I could otherwise so fully 
enjoy? ” 

“It may be sensations are infectious. I know I 
am puzzled about these matters a good deal,” 
Alan answered, reflectively. 


63 the master oe deeplawn 

Just then Gabe gave the signal that supper was 
ready and the conversation was interrupted. He 
was an expert cook and the outdoor life gave 
fine appetites, so that they always obeyed his 
summons with alacrity. He had, in addition to 
his culinary gifts, another accomplishment that 
often stood them in good stead as they sat watch- 
ing the twilight deepen among the trees — an 
ancient pipe through whose black stem he had 
drawn many an hour’s solacenient. The trouble- 
some black insects, the chief drawback to forest 
life, had not yet acquired a taste for tobacco, and 
so circled warily on the extreme outer edge of the 
blue wreaths. Alan, as he frequently supplemented 
Gabe’s efforts by waving a green bough over his 
head, used to wonder, if his perceptions were keen 
enough, would he not hear a jangled mixture of 
coughing, spluttering, and insect remonstrances 
from those multitudinous pests because of that 
malodorous pipe. 

They always retired early, after freely distribut- 
ing a Compound in their tents that Gabe manu- 
factured from various ingredients, which exorcised 
the stinging things more effectually than the 
tobacco. They enjoyed most perfect sleep, not 
even disturbed by the flaring fires which Gabe 
arose at regular intervals to tend in order to keep 
wild animals at bay. They used to rise in the 
early morning from their bed of boughs feeling 


NEWFOUNDLAND 


63 

that they had received new strength from the 
contact with mother earth, while all the forest 
around them was thrilling with the melody poured 
from a thousand throats. 

It is true there were stormy days — the long, 
pitiless rains of midsummer; these were an in- 
fliction, for touting in mackintoshes, or gunning 
under similar difflculties, was not to be thought 
of when one must tramp under rain-soaked trees 
or through a tangle of fern and underbrush. Alan 
had lost much of his relish for books under these 
primitive conditions, and so he used to drift away 
to Gabe’s tiny wigwam, and prevail upon him to 
recount his exploits on sea and land. 

Gabe was ever obliging, and since it was stories 
of adventure which this keen-eyed young fellow 
craved, adventures he gave him of the most thrill- 
ing description, for Gabe was a novelist in his 
own way, and could paint as lurid pictures as the 
most sensational of the craft. What he liked best 
was to see the dreamy look creep into those brave 
eyes that bore the expression in their depths of 
one who had looked on sorrow. He soon dis- 
covered that his listener seemed most interested 
in the traditions of older days, when the Indians 
owned all this vast western world away to the set- 
ting sun. Alan felt certain that Gabe drew largely 
on his imagination for these stories and traditions, 
and since he was not certain where fact ended and 


64 the master of deepeawn 

fiction began, he cheated the narrator by studying 
him and speculating very often during his most 
exciting recitals what Gabe might have been had 
his skin been white, and his early days spent 
amid the higher civilization of the pale faces. 

One evening, as they talked, Gabe suggested a 
trip to lyabrador, asserting that there were vessels 
frequently passing to and fro, and on their return 
to Bonavista, if nothing better presented itself, 
they could go to St. John’s and there take the mail 
steamer for the north. He offered his services as 
guide at so low a rate that Alan secured him on 
the spot, and then went immediately to Mr. Bruce 
and announced his determination to start the fol- 
lowing day. 

“We have done about all there is to do here,” 
he explained. “I really think I would like some- 
thing more exciting. Gabe described the scenery 
there in such glowing colors that I want to see it 
all for myself. According to him nature must 
have been in a particularly merry mood during 
some of her upheavals in those wild solitudes.” 

Mr. Bruce signified his willingness to accom- 
pany Alan as far from civilization as he might 
desire, and at day-dawn their tents were struck, 
their canoe started, and their faces turned toward 
the sea. What a perfect day it was— floating now 
out of some dark ravine through overhanging 
cliffs, then out on broad lake-like stretches of 


NEWFOUNDLAND 


65 

uiirippled water, the only sound to break the lan- 
guorous stillness being the swish of the paddles, 
or a bird-call from the forest depths. 

Alan took a turn paddling now and then, and 
again, with both hands clasped for a pillow, he 
leaned back, looking into the depths that can only 
be scaled by fancy’s strong wing ; great suns were 
wheeling there, no doubt as full of activities as 
this planet ship that held him prisoner ; he won- 
dered had sin disturbed their harmony ; were in- 
sanity and death the lot of the beings who swung 
aloft in those vast circles of worlds ? His fancy 
perhaps was never quite so busy as on those days 
when he floated hour after hour through those 
inland solitudes. 

Mr. Bruce too, seemed in a contemplative mood. 
He had a copy of “ Dante,” as the poet wrote it 
out of his own heart, in the language of his sunny 
Tuscan home ; but there were long pauses between 
the lines as his eyes followed now a bird, wheeling 
far above him joyously, and now the sun-kissed 
waters on the leafy shore. 

‘‘Just to think of the souls up there,” Alan re- 
marked at last. “ What an army our world has 
sent to join those ranks of shining ones ! It will 
be grand to die, for Sirius, Aldebaran, Orion, 
Jupiter, all may have their contingents there too. 
I wonder how theirs and ours will rank together, 
and in what ways their experiences will agree ? ” 
E 


66 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


Mr. Bruce looked at him curiously. What sort 
of youth was this who lived so intensely in both 
worlds ? Other young fellows at his age had their 
ambitions mainly bounded by the fit of their gar- 
ments, the silky down appearing on lips and 
cheeks, their skill in athletic games, or the way 
their tender overtures were received by maidens 
as feather-headed as themselves. Alan had a 
most provoking indifference to all these matters, 
save the athletic sports. No captain of a univer- 
sity eleven could be prouder of the fact that his 
nerve was strong enough to match the muscle of 
the champion wrestler in rustic circles at Deep- 
lawn. 

They reached Bonavista at sunset. Gabe safely 
moored his canoe and then went around in search 
of a vessel. In a short time he came speeding 
back with the news that a vessel was just about 
ready to sail for Labrador. They went on board, 
and the anchor was lifted that evening. The 
moon was near the full, but the air too calm to 
suit the skipper, who was leaving behind him the 
bride of a week. To be becalmed in those rip- 
pling northern waters, no matter how superb the 
scenery might be, would not suit him so well as 
a rattling wind. 

Mr. Bruce and Alan, grown accustomed to rough- 
ing it, lay down on some folds of sailcloth on the 
deck, after fixing a bit of awning above their 


NEWFOUNDLAND 


67 

heads to shut out the moonbeams. Here they 
slept as profoundly as if resting on down and 
curtained with satin, and they certainly awoke 
with a much better taste in their mouths. They 
were ready for their breakfast of fresh cod, salt 
pork, and biscuits, which Alan ate with a relish 
that astonished the sailors, who did not think 
that a youth rich enough to travel with his tutor 
and a guide, would have an appetite in common 
with toughened toilers of the sea. He learned 
rapidly, and profiting by the lessons on the way 
up from St. John’s, he was soon able to do a sail- 
or’s work. The weather had been so calm that 
he had leisure to master all the intricacies of ropes 
and sea phrases, for the sailors were glad to com- 
municate what they knew to the youth who, by his 
kindliness, had won their hearty good-will. They 
were becalmed at one time for several days, but 
Alan did not find the delay long. He reckoned 
that when the winds did waken and fill out those 
flapping sails, he himself could manage the craft 
safely, were but the opportunity given him. 

At last, one night, he and Mr. Bruce were 
awakened by a heavy rumbling, and a moment 
later the water drenched them where they lay. 
Springing to their feet, they found the staunch 
little ship in the midst of a half-gale, and plow- 
ing along finely toward the north, with every inch 
of canvas set, and the captain whistling cheerily 


68 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


at the wheel. Mr. Bruce went below, while Alan 
scrambled into an oiled suit, loaned him by a 
sailor whose watch he offered to relieve, and then 
began, to the rhythm of rolling thunder and dash- 
ing rain, to put his new acquirements in practice. 
He found it was not so easy climbing into the rig- 
ging and making his way along the slippery deck 
as when the vessel was motionless, but this was 
vastly more to his mind, for it was life, and he 
felt his pulses tingling with the mad delight of 
overcoming the elemental fury. In the height of 
the storm Mr. Bruce came on deck to urge him to 
seek the cabin’s shelter, but his pleading was in 
vain. 

“I promised a sailor to keep his watch, and I 
won’t go back on my word,” Alan declared, dash- 
ing the spray from his face as he spoke. “ I am 
going to earn my breakfast and an appetite to 
relish it.” 

“ You are not a sailor, and the steward assures, 
me that this is a night to try the seamanship of 
an old tar. It will be a dear night’s work for a 
good many I fear, if you are washed overboard.” 

“ I will take care. It is too much to ask me to 
be shut up in a hole on a night like this.” 

Mr. Bruce was not convinced, but made his way 
carefully to the wheel and interviewed the captain. 

“ The young master ’ll be all right ; you can let 
him stay,” was the reply, given with all confi- 


NEWFOUNDI.AND 


69 

dence. Far from convinced, Mr. Bruce stood in 
the driving storm, resolved to watch Alan’s move- 
ments if he could not control them. 

“ Pity that un couldn’t be a sailor, he do well 
at it and would soon be a skipper,” the captain re- 
marked, as he tightened his jacket and followed 
Alan’s movements admiringly. “No girl about 
he, and he takes to we just like one of our own 
lads.” 

‘ ‘ I wish he was not so eager about sailors’ 
duties just now, for his life is most valuable, and 
the sea would swallow him as greedily as the most 
useless. ’ ’ 

“Yes, I’ve seen he take down a whole vessel 
load in a storm ; but us don’t go till our time 
comes. Every sailor knows that, and it keeps they 
from being frightened.” 

Alan came at last to Mr. Bruce’s side. 

“If you are so anxious about me, I will go be- 
low,” he said, softly. 

“Of your own free will?” Mr. Bruce asked, 
greatly relieved. 

“ You must ask no questions but take my sub- 
mission for what it is worth,” was the laughing 
reply. “And you must come and call Solomon 
yourself and tell him it is not my fault.” 

The storm followed them until they reached 
Labrador. Alan’s face had been finely bronzed 
and his hands roughened by the toils of the sea. 


70 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

They soon realized that Gabe had not overdrawn 
the description of nature’s rugged wildness in that 
northern land, as with the canoe they made long 
excursions inland, returning to the vessel with 
faces covered with the bites of the myriad insects, 
chief among them mosquitoes and black flies, 
but as delighted with what they had seen as if a 
few fly bites more or less were matters of supreme 
inconsequence. The bark tarried but a short time, 
and Gabe then suggested a trip around the western 
shore of Newfoundland in some sailing vessel, for, 
evidently, he was unwilling to part company with 
these new acquaintances. He assured them they 
could easily take a schooner from the south across 
to Cape Breton, which lay only sixty miles away, 
and after that they would have no further diffl- 
culty in making their way homeward. He fur- 
thermore assured Alan that he would be able by 
that time to take full charge of a schooner him- 
self. 

“ If he had a capable crew,” Mr. Bruce gently 
insinuated. But Gabe maintained that he could 
get on with the same crews with which average 
skippers are provided. The suggestion suited 
Alan’s fancy, but they had already overstayed 
their vacation period, and their presence was de- 
manded at Deeplawn. 

The remains of the commissariat department 
were bestowed upon Gabe, in addition to a more 


NEWFOUNDLAND 7 1 

substantial token of their appreciation of his ser- 
vices, and then good-bye was said. 

The travelers, however, first promised to return 
the following year if all was well, and with him 
for a guide, take the proposed trip along the west 
coast. 


CHAPTER VII 


UNIVERSITY LIEE 

D EEPEAWN was closed for the winter, save 
only a few rooms reserved for Mrs. Dixon, 
Mr. Dolliver, and one of the maids. Alan went 
to Brown ; Mr. Bruce had secured a professor- 
ship in a western college ; and Reginald was still 
in the asylum. In some ways he now seemed 
rational, but the consuming desire to destroy 
Alan’s life had in no wise abated. Indeed, so de- 
termined was he that he was not acquainted with 
Alan’s whereabouts lest, escaping, he might put 
in execution the plans that occupied most of his 
thoughts. Not one of the experts who had treated 
him held out any hopes of his recovery, for his 
mind appeared to be hopelessly diseased. For the 
last few years he had lived at such high pres- 
sure, violating recklessly every physical law, that 
his constitution had sunk beneath the strain. 
Alan had visited him once, but the ferocious 
gleam in the once kindly, beaming eyes, the sar- 
donic convulsion of the features, the scarce human 
growl of rage issuing from the frothing lips at his 
presence, told only too plainly that the fewer inter- 
views between them the better for both. Alan 
72 


UNIVERSITY EIFE 


73 


gradually learned from others of the temptations 
that had beset his brother, but which he had 
neither the wisdom nor will-power to withstand. 
The wine suppers and mad revelries connected 
with them, the gambling and other nameless 
vices, had laid a poor foundation for mature man- 
hood when all governing restraint was removed. 

Alan had elected a full course of general study ; 
he had no special leaning toward any of the pro- 
fessions, and he was not willing to join either the- 
overcrowded legal or medical ranks, nor did he 
fear that the country was in danger of the present 
supply proving inadequate to the demand. 

It was soon generally known among his ac- 
quaintances that, if he chose, he might join the 
ranks of the gilded youth, since his family was 
sufficiently prominent for him to take this posi- 
tion, both by birth and fortune ; hence any section 
of club life was open to him, and he was enabled 
to draw his companions from any set he desired. 
It was known too, that he had control of a large 
income already, and would therefore be a very 
useful addition to any of their societies, for the 
many luxuries in which they indulged were ex- 
pensive, and additional members were warmly 
welcomed ; so a good many were bidding for his 
friendship. 

He received their overtures with his usual po- 
liteness, and expressed his willingness to enter 


74 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


into any society that would tend to further his 
literary advancement. But there was something 
in his manner that marked him as superior to the 
ordinary society proclivities, and impressed the 
students that he, in some measure, lived on a 
higher plane than they. 

However, Alan was not easily persuaded to be- 
come a member of any organization whose claims 
had been presented to him, and he worked at his 
•studies determinedly, with the consciousness that 
he was mentally expanding and his powers of ob- 
servation growing stronger and more varied. 

As the months wore on, however, the question 
presented itself to his mind whether a club 
formed on helpful principles might not be bene- 
ficial to students, since it seemed to be a necessity 
with them to require something of the kind. He 
was not constituted like the unhappy class of 
reformers who take their work so seriously that 
their whole life is embittered by it. The idea as- 
sumed more definite proportions, and with his ac- 
customed directness he invited his acquaintances 
to join him in his projected enterprise, explaining 
to them just what his thought was, and propos- 
ing a few simple rules for their acceptance and 
signature, which impressed some of them as re- 
markably similar to the ten commandments ; the 
ordinary vices were so definitely prohibited that 
there was no possibility of a misunderstanding. 


UNIVERSITY EIRE 


75 


Of course, there was a good deal of fun made 
of the proposed club. There were a good many 
toasts drunk in its honor, and some very witty 
speeches had their inspiration from it. But there 
was little to be gained in this way, for Alan, to all 
appearances, was equally indifferent to their com- 
mendations or contempt. Half a dozen names 
had been subscribed the first evening, most of 
them being students in theology, and the quiet 
entertainment that followed hardly seemed differ- 
ent from any ordinary gathering in a comrade’s 
room. 

Before the evening was ended, however, they 
began to fancy this new club might mean vastly 
more than they anticipated, for later, when Alan 
more fully explained what the rules they had 
signed really included, they realized their promises 
to be deeply binding upon them. Not merely the 
few years of student life were concerned, but they 
were for every year until, from other worlds, per- 
haps, they would look back upon this life as a task 
finished for good or ill. 

They found that their promises included the 
diligent use of every opportunity to improve 
themselves, and help others to do the same ; to 
overcome any constitutional weakness of pride, 
sloth, selfishness in the abstract, or in the coarser 
forms that develop by indulgence therein ; to de- 
fend the helpless, whether human or dumb ; to 


76 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

expend as little as possible on themselves by 
needless self-indulgence ; and to endeavor to bring 
to mankind the age of light, dreamed of and sung 
by philosophers and poets through every period. 
Of course, in addition, it was in the strictest sense 
a temperance society. 

After the rules had been read and explained 
with considerable minuteness, all were given the 
privilege, if they so desired, to have their names 
taken off the pledge. The very coolness of the 
leader, Alan, as he proposed this, fascinated them. 
He assured them that he was not anxious to have 
timid members without the courage to endure the 
contempt of fellow-students, since such would, in 
all probability, fall to their lot. “ I must say that 
I would prefer two men of real courage, who 
would be just as strong to bear contempt as praise, 
rather than a score of weak-hearted ones. They 
would be more help to any cause.” He spoke in 
a way that made every one of them present wish 
to be one of the two possessed of genuine courage. 
No one requested a withdrawal of his signature, 
and the six names remained on the paper. 

As they walked away when the meeting was 
ended, each one confessed to the feeling that he 
had come in contact with one who was differ- 
ent from themselves, and, in fact, from any 
they knew. They were also not a little surprised 
that one younger than most of them, and with 


UNIVERSITY RIFE 77 

less experience of school life, should have com- 
pelled such ready submission to his will. 

“ It is my opinion that young Rivers will make 
his mark in the world,” one of the students named 
Stennett, remarked defensively. He was the old- 
est of the six, and felt that some excuse was 
necessary for the easy ascendency gained over 
each one of them. 

“ I scarcely think so,” another responded ; ‘‘ he 
is too religious ever to get far ahead. That always 
bars one’s progress. But I can’t understand how 
he got us all under his thumb so easily. He must 
have a good deal of reserve power. However, I 
mean to stick to the programme, if for nothing 
else than to see what will come of it.” 

“He is not the one to be kept down by religion 
or anything of the kind. He is a genuine worker, 
and very bright I am told, and gets through as 
much study as two ordinary students.” 

“ He is a born leader, whatever else he may 
be,” Stennett declared. He was feeling more 
serious that night than he had done for many a 
month ; his father was a minister in a country 
village, and at great self-sacrifice was putting his 
son through college. He realized that he had not 
been so industrious as he might have been, but 
could have considerably lessened his father’s 
burdens if he had so willed, by hard study, and 
securing some of the generous money prizes pro- 


78 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

vided in the university by benevolently disposed 
persons. Now as he saw a meteor flash from the 
upper abyss, his thoughts were suddenly arrested 
and diverted from every-day channels to a time 
farther along the future, when not even a remi- 
niscence of him would remain on earth. To him, 
in that future period of his existence, it would be 
a matter of tremendously serious importance how 
he used his privileges and opportunities of this 
present. He left his comrades and went to his 
own room. Far into the night he lay tossing on 
his bed because of the troubled thoughts begotten 
of that evening’s encounter. Alan was none the 
wiser for some time of what he had been the 
means of doing for his fellow-student. But weeks 
after, as they were strolling together in the after- 
glow of sunset one frosty winter evening, Stennett 
confessed the change wrought in him, and thanked 
the friend who had helped him in the very best 
way one human being can benefit another. 

The new club was much discussed among those 
who knew of its existence, and others applied for 
admission, thereby repeating history and recalling 
another club that met in a university over the sea 
some eight score years ago, and which has very 
considerably revolutionized the face of Chris- 
tendom. A few cast ridicule on it to Alan’s face — 
a feat they did not care a second time to repeat. 
With cutting sarcasm he bade them confine their 


UNIVERSITY LIFE 79 

criticisms to their own gatherings, and endeavor 
to profit by their own teaching. 

One bully, who measured the youth’s prowess 
by his age and beardless face, was so worsted in 
the argument that he undertook to supplement 
his attack with his fists. The muscle of his op- 
ponent was a matter of most aggravating surprise 
to him, since he found that his arguments by 
sleight of hand fully equalled those of speech. 
Alan probably rose in the estimation of the 
students by this sturdy defense of his rights more 
than he might have done by a long course of moral 
suasion ; but after he had recovered from the pas- 
sionate impulse that forced him so far to forget 
himself, he resolved never to repeat the act, no 
matter what the provocation might be. To in- 
sure this he wisely determined not to engage in 
wordy warfare, which is only a little more respect- 
able than the pugilistic kind. 

At the next meeting the members were filled 
with astonishment to hear him apologize for the 
part he had taken. He went on to say : “I felt 
that I had descended to a level with the Sweenys 
and Sullivans, or lower still, with the dumb 
brutes who adjust their difficulties with tooth and 
claw. I promise never again to disgrace myself 
or the members of our club by such brutality.” 
He resumed his seat quietly, but Ralph Stennett 
was on his feet in an instant. 


8o 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


“ It’s awfully plucky of you to make that con- 
fession, Rivers ; we did not expect it. To tell the 
truth, we were very proud of a leader who could 
knock the wind so easily out of Clancy ; but the 
way you have put it shows fighting in another 
light which I, for one, never viewed it in before.” 

There was hearty cheering after Stennett’s 
speech, but whether it was for him or Alan, none 
of them seemed rightly to know. Alan did not 
permit any further waste of time, but proceeded 
to the business of the evening. Questions were 
to be discussed that had to do with other than 
student life. It was not merely necessary to know 
what the ancients thought and wrote, with the 
great army of book and creed-makers through 
the centuries of our written history, but what 
work they were individually fitted for and likely 
to succeed in. He stated, with transparent frank- 
ness, his own perplexity in the matter of choos- 
ing a career, at the same time relating that bit of 
his experience which had revolutionized his 
thought when the desert prophet looked at him 
from out the pages of the old illuminated Bible. 

A curious sensation went through the group of 
students as they listened to him telling in that 
matter-of-fact way, what each one of them would 
have hesitated to acknowledge, had it been their 
own experience ; while their admiration of, and 
reverence for him, as he spoke, would have sur- 


UNIVERSITY RIFE 


8l 


prised him could he have looked into their hearts. 
He impressed them as so thoroughly honest, and 
withal possessed of such rare nobility of character, 
that their natures were touched as they could 
have been by no other, save a comrade of their 
own age. 

There was a good deal of suppressed enthusi- 
asm, manifested only in the glistening eyes and 
working of the mobile faces. Subjects were dis- 
cussed in the same business-like manner as their 
games or lectures, which few of them had ever 
heard spoken of outside the walls of a church. 
They soon found that Alan was far ahead of any 
of them in his knowledge of classic literature, 
while in the spirit of its interpretation he left 
them also far behind. The Bible was referred to 
as naturally, and also as fearlessly, as Thucydides 
or Plato, and the splendor of its rhetoric discussed 
as critically, but with a reverence not shown 
toward any other literature. To their great sur- 
prise they found themselves growing interested as 
the discussion proceeded, and consented to devote 
to it the same attention bestowed on other master- 
pieces. Alan confessed that he had given serious 
thought to the possibility of having the Bible in- 
troduced as a text-book in the various colleges. 
On one occasion he said : 

‘‘We are a long way behind the ancients in 
this respect, and it is becoming noticeable in 

p 


82 the master of deepeawn 

our national character. Bven the worship of 
Jupiter or Saturn, I believe, was better than the 
wholesale irreverence of the present day, the athe- 
ism, for it is practically that, which controls men 
and women who are not Christians.’’ 

This question had been freely discussed, and 
even the most skeptical was forced to acknowl- 
edge that there was some force in his statement. 
Alan had some original ideas respecting the 
length of their session and the hour of meeting. 
He preferred natural to artificial light for every- 
thing but sleep, and if possible began his day’s 
work with the sun. He declared that he did not 
find any special inspiration in gaslight, while his 
eyes were all the better for the natural light. 
When the subject was discussed he reasoned that 
it was only the more ferocious animals, as a rule, 
that chose the night time for seeking their live- 
lihood, while all the nobler specimens of brute 
life carry on their conscious existence during the 
day. He very ardently desired to have their 
hour for meeting changed to the afternoon, but as 
this was contrary to all precedent, he found it im- 
possible to persuade the other members. As the 
months wore away, new names were constantly 
added to the list, and the interest increased, for 
the subjects discussed were both numerous and 
varied. They continued to give the Bible the 
first place always, for Alan insisted that men nowa- 


UNIVERSITY RIFE 


83 

days should respect matters connected with the 
future life as much as the heathen who, as a rule, 
regarded the question of immortality and exist- 
ence of the immortal gods as the very highest 
within the range of their intellectual faculties. 
There was never anything apologetic in his atti- 
tude toward religion, as if it was at all unusual 
for young men to give themselves to the diligent 
study of theology without being in any profes- 
sional sense theologians. In the matter of Chris- 
tian experience he did not insist on any rigid rules ; 
he believed in making the way of life so simple that 
the least spiritual could not fail to understand it. 
He tried to make them look upon conversion and 
Christian service as the mere submitting of the 
will to God, and squaring their every-day life by 
the two commandments Christ so strongly empha- 
sized toward the close of his ministry. 

The great secret of his power over his comrades 
was his perfect unconsciousness of self. He went 
on his way with such charming indifference to 
everything but what he regarded the duty of the 
present hour. If he had indulged, as might have 
been so natural under the circumstances, in any 
exhibition of a sense of leadership, no doubt some 
of them would have resented it, but the most sensi- 
tive on this point could find nothing to censure. 
They did not know with what earnestness he tried 
to cultivate self-effacement. 


CHAPTER VIII 


AT SEA 


MONG his other eccentricities, Alan paid 



little attention to society, in so far as it ne- 
cessitated attendance upon dinner or tea parties, 
or any of the gatherings where gentlemen must 
figure in the regulation dress coat and expansive 
linen. He made a very indifferent carpet knight, 
and always seemed somewhat ill at ease with 
elegantly dressed women, unless they could talk 
intelligently on topics above the ordinary society 
nothings, and did not exact from him a courtesy 
that struck him as almost servile. For woman in 
the abstract he had much of that half- forgotten 
chivalry which brightens the otherwise dusky 
pages of mediaeval history ; but for women in all 
the bravery of gowns scant at the shoulders and 
trailing on the floor he still possessed the con- 
tempt of the average schoolboy. His wealth and 
social position secured him admittance into the 
best society, and as time wore on his own in- 
dividual merit as a brillant student would have 
done so ; but after a few experiences he turned 
his face resolutely from such frivolities. 

I will never be a society man ; nature did not 


AT SEA 


85 

intend me for it any more than she meant me for 
a musieian or a tailor,” he remarked at a club 
gathering one day when that subject was being 
discussed. 

“You surely believe in friendly intercourse 
among human beings, for man is pre-eminently a 
social animal,” one of the members returned 
defensively. 

“Yes, certainly, I believe in friendly human 
fellowship as much as any of you ; but too much of 
a certain kind is worse for a person who values 
time, than solitary confinement. I, for one, would 
stipulate that our intimate friends, to be helpful 
to us, must be of the finest quality, and then 
taken only in limited quantities.” 

“ You are too much of a stoic for me ; perhaps 
you really are one of those old Spartans trans- 
planted into this nineteenth century,” was the 
somewhat petulant reply. 

“ Tell me what do you gain for the loss of a 
good five-hours’ sleep, save a fit of indigestion 
brought on by over-indulgence in those tempting 
viands of the cook’s skill ? I tried it two or three 
times from a sense of duty to old family con- 
nections ; but as I came home after midnight, the 
very stars seemed to be questioning why I wasted 
my strength in that fashion. My head was in a 
whirl from watching the dancers, my blood hot 
from the heavy, perfumed air, and I hadn’t a 


86 


THE MASTER OK DEEPEAWN 


single thing to produce as a memento of what I had 
lost. My time is too precious and the necessity 
for a cool, rested brain too great for me to take 
time for such work.” 

“ I am almost tempted to believe that there are 
individual cases of transmigration of souls, and 
Confucius or Socrates perchance is taking a stroll 
around the earth under the guise of your stern, 
handsome face.” 

“ Bah ! ” was the contemptuous reply, and they 
forthwith began to decipher an ancient cuneiform 
inscription inscribed centuries ago — a task which, 
of course, baffled them completely; but it gave 
them something to think about other than the 
convolutions of the dance, class-suppers, and the 
transmigration of souls. 

Alan’s chivalry was not the kind to make him 
particularly desired by richly dressed damsels, 
since he had an impression, possibly an erroneous 
one, that they were as capable of attending to 
their own interests as he was to his ; but a fellow- 
student was sure of receiving a scathing rebuke 
if he saw him retain his seat in a street-car, or any 
public gathering, when there were elderly or 
shabbily dressed women near at hand who had 
no seat. Alan himself gave his seat to the 
haughtiest or humblest alike, but he criticised 
the others only for not deferring to the latter. 
His student friends used to watch, with covert 


AT SEA 


87 


amusement, his fingers twitching nervously when 
he saw a poorly dressed woman wearily holding 
on to the car strap, perhaps thereby revealing her 
shabbiness of dress, while some sleek youth leaned 
back in his seat ; they were pretty certain that 
those same sinewy fingers were aching to fling 
him to one side, and place the tired worker in his 
place. 

“ It is useless for you to fret and worry over the 
shortcomings of others. Humanity is only noble 
in small sections, and the rank and file have so 
many meannesses, both inherited and acquired, 
that they are enough to blight a whole race if 
evenly distributed,” Ralph Stennett remarked 
wearily one day, after Alan had been talking to 
a few of them on the subject^ Ralph was not 
strong-souled enough to fight all these meannesses 
and still keep his own heart brave and cheery. 
Few are thus able, and they are the reformers of 
the first water, the kohinoors, so to speak, among 
the paste. 

“ I do not mean to fret, but to fight,” was the 
sturdy response. “And those who call me friend 
must do the same ; not merely in one thing, but 
in everything, as far as their light goes.” 

“You make your terms of friendship tremen- 
dously high.” 

Alan glanced around keenly on the faces, more 
or less amused. 


88 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


“ Your own true manhood tells all of you that 
I am right ; and you all likewise know that I do 
not ask from you more than I try to do myself — 
more than is due to your own natures, if you would 
be genuine men. I do not want any one to join us 
who is not anxious to make the very best of him- 
self ; I despise the half-and-half sort as much as 
the utterly ignoble.” 

“ I am of the opinion that you will find it hard 
to entice any of us to back out of this, no matter 
what your terms are ; you have a knack of stiff- 
ening one’s moral backbone, that is — well, to say 
the least, uncanny,” Will Hamilton said, soberly. 

“ If you get your moral stiffening only through 
me, I fear that it won’t amount to much.” 

“You are mistaken there, I am certain. Why, 
my own mother would not recognize me as her 
boy if she could look me through and through to 
the very bottom of my soul — but it may not all 
be due to you.” 

This was from one of the most silent members. 
The look Alan bestowed upon him meant more 
than speech just th*en. The eyes, perhaps, always 
tell the truth, while the lips sometimes say more 
and often less, since our deepest thoughts ever re- 
main unuttered. 

Before the close of the year quite a few students 
solicited admission, although they must needs 
sever their connection with another society in 


AT SEA 89 

order to subscribe to the rules which the new 
society so religiously adhered to. 

Some of the professors, when accounts of this 
new club reached them, indulged in mild sar- 
casm ; others approvingly admired the youth 
who dared to be singular, and whose very fear- 
lessness won for him a recognition that few others 
could boast. The professors who had perpetrated 
their witticisms respecting the club, did not re- 
peat the offense, for with Alan his teachers as 
well as his laundress were human beings, and 
it was only their individual worth, and not their 
position, which commanded his respect, and by 
degrees his professors learned this fact and when 
dealing with him presumed little upon their po- 
sitions. 

Nature generally accommodates herself to the 
exigencies of circumstance, and as there is no es- 
pecial demand for heroes at the present day the 
market is not glutted. Hence, when a moral hero, 
conscientious and entirely fearless, does step down 
among his fellows, they usually persecute him or 
place him on a pedestal, be he peer or peasant, 
and the Brown students were not an exception to 
the general rule. Alan,, for the most part,, pre- 
ferred the former treatment since it accorded bet- 
ter with his estimate of his own worth. 

Commencement exercises over, Alan went back 
to Deeplawn. The place seemed lonely and Mr. 


90 


THE MASTER OK DEEPEAWN 


Dolliver was evidently nearing his long home, for 
his excursions now seldom extended farther than 
old Adam’s cottage, while a social meeting in the 
kitchen at Deeplawn constituted his public exer- 
cises. Mrs. Dixon had yielded so far to his en- 
treaties for a place to hold the meetings as to open 
the kitchen, and Alan very speedily transferred it 
to one of the spacious unused rooms. Here the 
people of the neighborhood would assemble and 
heaven seemed to them nearer because of the beau- 
tiful room in which they met. It was a joy to 
the aged minister to recline in an invalid-chair 
and give the direction of the meeting to Alan and 
to hear that voice explain God’s word to the 
eager listeners. 

Alan was very busy the first week or two, and 
then he went to Providence to put in execution a 
project already successfully under way. During 
the year, he had spoken from time to time with so 
much enthusiasm of his Newfoundland experi- 
ences, that each member of the club would gladly 
have joined him in a second expedition. Some 
of them, however, had their own way to make in 
the world, and the necessity to earn money during 
the vacation forced them in another direction, but 
there were some of them who engaged to be ready 
early in July. 

Alan had persuaded them each to be willing to 
take a protegd, selected from the unsavory quar- 


AT SEA 


91 


ter of Providence. He had been employed in the 
slums during the past year, and he had done 
much good work. Now he saw the way open to 
set others working, but, to his regret, not very will- 
ingly on the pait of some, and he felt certain that 
if the students themselves should fail to get any 
moral benefit out of the partnership, the ill-con- 
ditioned lads would certainly be helped. 

He had thought the matter out very carefully, 
and had reached the determination that no matter 
who joined the expedition, a certain number of 
those poor boys should have one summer to look 
back upon with satisfaction. If he could get rich 
young men to share the burden, so much the bet- 
ter in every way, for he could find use for every 
spare dollar of his income in the quarter where he 
worked. He did not expect the lads to be of any 
use in the capacity of servants, only so far as they 
might furnish object lessons in broadening the 
sympathies of their respective patrons and teach- 
ing them the common brotherhood of man, with 
the privilege all may have of serving others. 

Alan secured the boys and attended to their 
outfits and other matters connected with the jour- 
ney. When they finally assembled on the train 
for Boston, where some of the young men were to 
join them and the entire party would take the 
boat for St. John’s, they were puzzled to know 
which to admire most, themselves individually. 


92 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


or each other, so great had been the transformation 
wrought by the barber and tailor. 

Alan disliked extremely causing unnecessary 
pain in hearts that had known so little of any- 
thing else, and he fancied that if the young men 
were permitted to choose their own body-guard 
the last ones chosen might have their feelings 
hurt and so he decided upon the device used by 
the eleven disciples, and when they were well un- 
der way and were steaming out toward the open 
sea, he collected the entire party on deck and pro- 
ceeded to get matters satisfactorily arranged. 
Each boy’s name was written on a slip of paper 
and put in a hat ; then the young men each drew 
out a slip in turn. The boys watched the pro- 
ceedings much more anxiously than the others 
would have guessed. From a very early period, 
indeed as far back as their memory earned them, 
they had been forced to look after themselves, for 
the most part, and as they had never had the privi- 
lege, to any great extent, of studying nature outside 
the city parks, they had confined themselves largely 
to what was most familiar in their lives, their fel- 
low-creatures, and in this way were experts in 
gauging human character by the face. Those who 
came last were the most jubilant, since each one 
was ambitious to become Alan’s special factotum, 
and his hand had not yet been put in the hat. A 
freckled-faced, tawny-haired youth stood looking 


AT SEA 93 

with gratified interest at Alan as he drew the one 
remaining slip from the hat. 

“I guess it’s not worth while looking at the slip, 
for I belongs to you, anyway,” the boy remarked, 
showing as he smiled, a mouth full of white, even 
teeth. “ It’s worth while waitin’ to the last to 
have such luck. Mayn’t I shine yer boots right 
away ? ” he inquired, as he edged up affectionately 
to his new master, quite indiiBfei'ent to the glances, 
more or less vindictive, from eleven pairs of eyes. 
Alan glanced down at his shoes, which were cer- 
tainly very dusty, for he had been out since early 
morning and the streets had been only wind-swept. 
The request was granted a little later when they 
went to the stateroom to prepare for dinner. The 
satisfaction of the hungry boys was really infec- 
tious when they learned that the delicious odors 
floating up from the kitchen came from their own 
dinner in course of preparation. 

“ Can us fellers have every bit as much as we 
can eat ?” Alan’s youthful esquire asked, as he 
drew his head in the stateroom door for the twen- 
tieth time, after regaling his olfactories with the 
odor. 

“ Why, certainly. Is that such an unusual ex- 
perience with you ? ” 

“ I guess it is ; we never gets just as much first- 
rate vittels as we can eat, only when rich folks 
gives us a spread, and that’s not more’n once or 


94 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


twice a year. Tt^s tiresome, the gnawin’ one gets 
in their stummick most of the time, but we never 
forgets the taste of good vittels after once we’ve 
et them.” 

Alan had been present at one of those charity 
feasts during the winter, and was amused at the 
way the children seemed to enjoy the repast. He 
decided to be a witness of the feast the boys 
were to have that day. They were to have a side 
table all to themselves, after the others were 
through, when the remains of the dinner were to 
be served up to them. His friends had drawn the 
line at regaling their retainers in first-class style. 
The poor fellows found it very tedious as they 
waited on deck for their summons to dinner. 
Everything was in readiness at last and Alan 
himself went to call them ; his own boy, who re- 
sponded to the name of Michael, led the way. 
Already he was assuming patronizing airs because 
of his good fortune in the matter of a master. 

“ Is it all et up?” he asked, anxiously; “they’ve 
been that long we was afraid there’d not be a bite 
left for us.” 

“ There will be plenty for all of you.” 

“ Hooray.” He murmured his satisfaction softly, 
but it was none the less genuine. Alan was still 
young-hearted enough to enjoy it all, and sat at a 
table some distance away, but which commanded 
an excellent view of the group as they were pre- 


AT SEA 


95 


sided over by a couple of waiters. Tbe rapidity 
with which the roast beef, ham, vegetables, entrees, 
and dessert disappeared would have been amazing 
to any one unacquainted with the stowing capac- 
ity of half-starved boys; some of the food was 
already on the way into solid tissue, it seemed to 
Alan, before the feast was ended. 

“ Now we can most hold out till we get to the 
end of our voyage,” Mike remarked, as he moved 
back from the table. “ Boys, that was better nor 
any Christmas feast ; I never knowed they could 
make vittels up so good. My, but mustn’t it be 
fine to be rich and have heaps of money!” 

“ Me fayther says it’s the rich find it a sorrer to 
be lavin’ this world, and the young gintlemin yan- 
der ’ll be lavin’ hapes of money.” Augustine 
McGuire was the speaker, and he looked across at 
Alan, who just then appeared absorbed in his 
book. “It’s moighty quare,” Augustine contin- 
ued, “what good hearts the heretics do be havin’; 
wan would think they was as good as the praists 
jest to see the way they do be a conductin’ av 
themselves by ordinary. ” Augustine was unable 
to move rapidly, so he settled into a chair and 
looked around with an air of perfect content. But 
Mike, who had been reared in less orthodox fash- 
ion, stood up manfully for the heretics in general 
and Alan Rivers in particular. He belonged to 
the second generation in the line of American- 


96 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


born citizens, and had lost a good deal of the 
original faith of his forefathers. 

“ Priests !” he exclaimed, contemptuously. 
“ Me father said, and he knows more than any 
fellow among ye, that not an archbishop in the 
lot ud do as much fur us as my young gentleman 
yander. I’m going to grow up just like him, so 
I am,” and Mike straightened himself as well as 
the circumstances would allow and looked defi- 
antly at Augustine ; but the good dinner had such 
a mellowing effect that the peace was only slightly 
ruffled, while Mike satisfied himself with a few 
threats if any of them dared to call his young 
gentleman a heretic any more. As Mike was one 
of the best pugilists of his size in their set, his re- 
marks were generally very respectfully received. 
The boys sat for some time quietly watching the 
passengers who, for the most part, were pushing 
about as restlessly as if business matters still pur- 
sued them on shipboard. An occasional remark 
reached Alan from the group, and contrary to the 
adage, “listeners never hear any good of them- 
selves,” whenever his character was under discus- 
sion one of the calendar saints could not have 
been mentioned more honorably. 

They were all in that transition stage of their 
affections when filial love ceases to absorb the 
faculties, and the other passion which comes, soon 
or late, to well-regulated youths of both sexes, had 


AT SEA 


97 


not seized them. Just at that period they were 
more inclined to hero worship, their hero taking 
the shape of some stalwart specimen of their own 
sex. Since Alan filled the requirements better 
than any one they knew, he came in for a large 
share of their boyish admiration. It was no spe- 
cial gain to him, but of inestimable benefit to 
them, for the very good reason that imitation is 
natural to most young creatures, and they one and 
all privately adopted him for their model ; even Au- 
^ gustine, whose voice had few sympathetic, musi- 
cal chords, tried his best to modulate its harshness 
and speak in the quiet way habitual to Mr. Rivers. 
They were used to activity, and the sense of full- 
ness soon wore off as the tiny builders engaged 
in their internal mechanism, seizing with avidity 
the unusual supplies, soon worked them up into 
blood, so that long before the odor from the sup- 
per in preparation began to mingle with the salty 
atmosphere, they were swarming over every ac- 
cessible part of the ship and meditating on other 
achievements than fashioning their characters 
after their benefactor. The sailors looked askance 
at these boys, whose faces and speech betrayed 
their origin, and some of them condescended to 
inquire what might be the object of their expedi- 
tion. 

“ We’ve come to take care of them young gents 
you see who go together mostly — the good look- 
G 


98 THE MASTER OE DEEPLAWN 

ingest }’OuVe got on board. They’re swell chaps, 

I can tell you,” Mike explained, proudly ; “ and 
we’re going to a fine large island off somewheres, 
and we’re going to kill things and live .outdoors.” 

“ I should say you’d be a sight more care than 
help. What do you city chaps know about rough- 
ing it in camps, and cooking your food over a fire, 
and handling canoes ? ” 

“ I guess we roughs it enough in the city to 
know how to do it anywheres. Why some of us 
fellers don’t have any homes at all, just sleeps by 
the night when we’ve got the change, and when 
we haven’ t crawls in anywheres ; even steals a 
chance in the big churches sometimes. But 
them’s the fine places to sleep in of a cold winter’s 
night, over a register, or on a cushion somewhere, 
only it kind of spiles you for nights when you 
ain’t got such privileges.” Mike had a fine pair 
of eyes, but just now they looked dreamy and 
sad as he reflected on what lay behind them, and 
anticipated also what probably awaited them 
when another winter should have them in its 
chilly grasp. 

‘‘ I wish we could go on sailing here for ever 
and ever, amen,” the feeblest-looking of the group 
said, wistfully. He had a racking cough, and re- 
sponded when addressed, which was not often, to 
the name of Dandy Dingwell. His comrades did 
not esteem him above his value ; he was not 


AT SEA 


99 


strong enough to hold his own in a fight or game, 
and in addition to these physical defects he had a 
troublesome thing for any slummer, whether man 
or boy, a sensitive conscience. His mother was a 
widow and a Protestant, which also told against 
them in the neighborhood. He was the oldest of 
four and had to do more than his share to keep 
starvation from their one room. Such a day as 
this he had not dreamed of as among the possi- 
bilities of this problem he called life, which ap- 
peared to him a constant fight to keep soul and 
body in touch. 

He followed the boys around, but always at the 
end of the procession, sometimes considerably in 
their rear, for his eyes seemed to look deeper into 
things and required a longer time to explore what- 
ever strange or delightful might greet them. To- 
day there had been so many of the latter to hold 
him that now and then he had to take a short cut 
to catch up with them, but he was content, know- 
ing there were other days for more leisurely sur- 
vey. 

There was one melancholy note in what would 
otherwise have been perfect harmony, as he re- 
membered his mother and little sisters in the 
stifling room at home ; the dinner they must 
eat; the stitch, stitch, through the long hours 
on work overlooked by men on the pattern 
of the old-time slave drivers — for they labored 


ICX) 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


under t e sweating system. He was only a boy, 
however, and could not always be thinking about 
others, so he was, on the whole, very happy that 
day. The gnawing at his stomach, which made 
that organ a troublesomely conscious part of his 
anatomy most of the time, had been less pro- 
nounced since dinner than for some weeks past — 
indeed, ever since his cough had been keeping 
him awake at night and weakening him by day. 
After a few more such dinners he felt pretty cer- 
tain the object that was gnawing so industriously 
would get satisfied and stop. 

They had grouped themselves at last on the 
hurricane-deck and were discussing matters in 
general, while they watched the distant sails dip- 
ping out of sight, or others coming up from the 
mysterious underworld of waters. The sun was 
sinking toward the west in a gorgeous bank of 
opal, amethyst, and ruby-colored clouds, the ves- 
sels near-by catching in their white sails these 
wonderful tints and reflecting them in the water 
below, while under all the great sea lay, like a 
tender mother, bearing them on her bosom. 

Dandy — the boys had given him this name be- 
cause his face and hands were generally clean and 
his hair well combed — did not listen very par- 
ticularly to their rambling talk,^but was going 
over in his mind those last chapters in the Reve- 
lation, of that city built of gold and pearl which 


AT SEA 


lOI 


John saw in his vision. Dandy vaguely wondered 
how it could be more beautiful than this, and if it 
was, why folks were not more willing to go there, 
or to have their friends. His mother, for instance, 
prayed every day of her life, and yet she always 
seemed frightened if any of them were sick, lest 
they should die ; for his own part, death could 
never seem other than a friend, now that he had 
this glimpse of God through his sky. 

He was brought back from his reverie by 
sounds of a sharp altercation between two of the 
boys ; one of them an Italian named Anselmo 
Dagoni and the other a Polish Jew, Jacob Mo- 
lensky. They too, by some means, had drifted 
into spiritual communings which ended- in a 
controversy, and when Dandy became conscious of 
what was going on they had clinched and were 
trying, in the fierceness of their religious zeal, to 
back one another off the deck. The other boys 
were looking on with much satisfaction. This 
was the one accustomed pleasure of their lives 
that never palled on them, and which promised 
to be a fitting close to this otherwise perfect day. 
Dandy was terrified ; he never could look upon a 
fight in an alley, out of sight of a policeman, with 
comfort. Here there were no police to interfere, 
but something more terrifying, that beautiful but 
treacherous ocean. 

“ Oh, boys, don’t, don’t ! ” he screamed, rushing 


102 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


to draw them back to the center of the deck ; but 
his strength was too puny to match theirs. 

Mike was watching critically. Gauging their 
strength and his own he decided there would be 
no difficulty at the right moment of flinging them 
back amidships and so save the excitement of a 
splash overboard. Dandy, finding he could not 
save them, in his terror dashed down the steps to 
bring some one that could, while Mike started to 
intercept him, leaving the combatants to their 
fate, which seemed a dangerous one, as they were 
very near the side of the steamship. Just then 
Alan stepped up, and before the boys knew he 
was in sight, he was holding them at arm^s length, 
his eyes blazing with indignation. 

‘‘ I have seen what has been going on and, with 
the exception of Dingwell, there is nothing to 
choose between you. I waited a few moments to 
see if there was not a single spark of manliness in 
any of you.” 

Mike was standing at the head of the stairs, 
looking as much a culprit as any. 

“For this, every one of you shall be punished ; 
these two most severely for they shall go to bed 
supperless ; the others, with the exception of 
Dingwell, shall have only bread and milk. The 
next time such a scene occurs your punishment 
will not be so light.” 

He turned and left them to meditate at their 


AT SKA 


103 


leisure. Perhaps it was not a judicious mode of 
treatment for half-starved boys, but he was angry 
and in no mood to argue with them. They sat 
regarding each other stupidly for a short time, 
then, as the odor of broiled chicken and beefsteak 
came floating up from those lower regions they 
realized the comforts they had forfeited. 

“ Say, boys, what do you s’ pose he’ll do that’ll 
be worse than to stop our vittels ? ” Anselmo asked, 
aghast. 

“ I don’t know what he'll do, but I can tell you 
what I HI do, you sneakin’ furriners, if you stop 
our supplies again ! ” Mike declared with a vim 
that made the weak-nerved Anselmo resolve that 
he, for one, would not incur that double punish- 
ment. Dandy had a thrill of self-righteous satis- 
faction pulsate through his attenuated frame ; he 
had so few thrills of any kind but cold and fear 
that it was quite a new sensation, but it was 
short-lived; eleven jealous pairs of eyes were 
presently turned upon him. 

“Dandy’s going to get all the good things; 
that’s not fair,” Anselmo whined. It was a family 
trait to covet anything they saw going to an- 
other, unless it might be poverty or pain, and 
Anselmo had fallen heir to a full share of this 
unfortunate characteristic. To go to bed supper- 
less would not be so bad if another of his comrades 
had not been feasting in his place. Dandy was 


104 master of DEEPEAWN 

silent ; long ago he had discovered that this was 
the wisest way for him to accept reproach, but as 
the boys discussed their grievances, he regretted 
that he too had not been included in the prohi- 
bition, since going without his supper after that 
superb dinner would have been a very mild 
infliction. He walked sorrowfully away. As he 
descended the steps he cast a lingering glance 
over sky and sea, thinking how much better the 
heavenly Jerusalem was after all, since within its 
gates there is nothing but peace. 

The boys followed him presently, and together 
they filed past the supper tables, filled with men 
and women busy discussing the good things 
which they too might presently have shared but 
for the little unpleasantness of a few minutes ago. 


CHAPTER IX 


ANSEI.MO 

A EAN certainly did not enjoy his own sup- 
per, thinking of the disappointed lads, 
and wished that he had devised some other 
mode of punishing them. He was naturally a 
strict disciplinarian, and could not easily break 
his word either in the matter of reward or punish- 
ment ; but as he caught a glimpse now and then 
of a skulking, wistful face peering at the well- 
spread tables, his purpose wavered. Leaving his 
own supper half eaten, he arose and beckoned 
them to follow him to a quiet part of the deck. 
He then asked : 

“Who of you are sorry for what you have 
done?” He looked around at the group. Up 
went Dandy Dingwell’s hand, but no one else re- 
sponded. 

‘‘ Put down your hand, Dingwell, for you have 
nothing to be sorry for.” 

“ He’s nothin’ but a sneakin’ heretic,” Anselmo 
muttered. He was able to speak the English of 
the streets as readily as a descendant of the Puri- 
tans. Alan heard the remark, but held his gath- 
ering wrath in restraint as he continued : 

105 


io6 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


“ Boys, I want you to understand that I am not 
taking you on this holiday excursion for my own 
pleasure, by any means, and my friends were even 
less eager to have you than I. I think it is only 
fair that we should understand each other fully. 
You are, some of you, at least, old enough to have 
some manly principles. Now, let me tell you 
plainly, that if I find you incorrigibly ungrateful 
and wicked, or if you trespass upon my patience 
. beyond a certain limit, I will send you back by 
this boat.’’ 

As he looked at them he saw a relaxing of the 
muscles of their faces. That this was the greater 
punishment in store for them, of which he had 
spoken, was the thought uppermost in each mind. 

“I know you have had little opportunity to 
learn how to be true, and so I feel the more sorry 
for you. God has been better to me, giving me a 
good home, and more than that the Bible, which 
has been kept from most of you. The only way 
we can make return to God is to love him and to 
help others. . Now do you understand why it is 
that I take so much trouble for you ? ’ ’ 

He waited for a reply, but they stood stolidly 
gazing at him, with the exception of Dandy Ding- 
well. 

“ Please, sir, that’s just the way mother talks,” 
he said, his face shining with joy. She loves 
the Bible and prays every day right up to the 


ANSKLMO 


107 


lyord. Slie says it’s only God and the living 
saints that’s any good to help people on the 
earth.” 

Alan turned to him with his own face suddenly 
illumined. 

“ I understand now why you are different from 
these lads,” he said; “it is because you have a 
Christian mother and the Bible.” 

Ansel mo clenched his fist ; he wanted to fight 
with some one, but prudence got the better of his 
religious valor. “ I could not finish my supper 
thinking of you,” he went on. “I want to do 
you good, and to help you to something better 
than the wretched lives before you. Won’t you 
try with me ? I would make you good myself if 
I were able, but you alone can do that, God help- 
ing you. Now, will you all promise me to try 
very hard to be good boys if I take you to the 
table, and allow the waiter to let you have any- 
thing you wish? If I get out of patience with 
you at any time I want you to forgive me ; I am 
only a young fellow myself and have had very 
little experience with other boys.” 

Mike stepped out, and seizing Alan’s hand, im- 
pulsively exclaimed : “ I’ll try to be good, and I’ll 
make the rest of ’em toe the mark too.” 

“No you won’t, neither,” Anselmo snarled. 

Alan turned to him : “Won’t you promise to 
be a better boy if I forgive you now? ” 


io8 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


‘ ‘ He’s not going to make me good, I can be 
that without him.” 

‘ ‘ I shall be sorry to send you back alone in the 
steamer, Hagoni, but rather than keep you with 
us to disturb the other lads, I shall do it, and be- 
cause I modify my promise now, do not presume 
that I shall do it again.” 

He turned to speak to Jacob Molensky, but 
happening to glance in Anselmo’s direction, inter- 
cepted a most sardonic expression ; for the boy 
was twisting his face out of shape in order to dis- 
play his malice. 

“ You have forfeited your supper, to-night, La- 
goni, and in all probability you will be back in 
your old home in a few days into the bargain.” 
Alan spoke sternly ; all pity for the vicious bit of 
humanity, for the time being, dying out of his 
heart. 

Anselmo set up a loud howl which brought him 
a box on the ears from a deck-hand, shortly after 
the others had gone into the saloon. He was 
forced to nurse his wrath and the aching ear in 
silence after that, but he meditated some means 
of revenging himself on some one. Dandy Ding- 
well was the most promising subject because of 
his physical weakness and his heretical faith. 
He studied the matter chiefly in reference to him. 
Meanwhile poor Dandy plied his knife and fork 
to such good purpose that for the second time that 


ANSELMO 


109 


day a very comfortable feeling came over him. 
Some half-hour later a party of very contented 
lads filed out on deck and joined Anselmo, whose 
wrath was at white heat, as he saw them leisurely 
walking to and fro like the guests he had seen in 
the fashionable hotels. 

“ Get out of this,” he snarled, as they drew 
near to him. When he found they paid no atten- 
tion to his command he arose to leave them. 
Just as he passed through the door he felt his coat 
pulled, and swinging around to bestow a blow, he 
caught sight of Dandy’s outstretched hand, in 
which lay a piece of temptingly frosted cake. 

“ It’s my own. I didn’t steal it, but kept it for 
you,” he whispered. 

“I won’t have your old cake,” Anselmo de- 
clared, viciously, but nevertheless eyed the cake 
longingly. 

“They are awful good, the boys said,” Dandy 
suggested, still keeping the tempting object in 
view. It was second nature with him to share any 
good thing with others, and just now Anselmo ap- 
pealed the most strongly to his sympathies. 

A moment after, the cake was seized without a 
word of thanks, and he was left standing alone by 
the door. He did not know that his kindly act 
had been noticed by more than one pair of eyes, 
but he turned back with a happy heart to the 
group of boys sitting outside on the deck enjoy- 


no 


THE MASTER OE DEEPEAWN 


ing, in an inexpressive sort of way, tlie far-off de- 
licious glow of the setting sun. It could not be 
expected that they could have other than a dim 
appreciation of the wonderful panorama spread 
before them ; beauty of any kind had seldom ap- 
pealed to their stunted natures, but perhaps God 
keeps some untainted places in youthful hearts, 
no matter how polluted their environment, that 
can respond at once to perfection in any form. 

“What did ye foller him out fer?” Jacob Mo- 
lensky asked, suspiciously. 

“Nothing much.” Dandy tried to speak in- 
differently, 

“I seed yer crib the cake, and ye guv it ter 
him.” 

“ What if he did? ’twas more’n you’d do for a 
feller as was as mean with ye as he was,” Mike 
said, with a decision that signified the conversa- 
tion was to terminate. 

“ Afore I’d crib vittals for that Eyetalian ” 

Jacob muttered. 

“Ye’d eat it yourself. I say, we’re going to 
pattern after Dandy, every mother’s son of us, and 

if ye don’t. I’ll ” Mike stopped abruptly, for 

Alan was just then approaching. 

He was beginning to find the task of a philan- 
thropist a particularly exasperating one. He had 
just intercepted Anselmo at some mischief that 
no other than a street arab of the most vicious 


ANSBLMO 


III 


proclivities would have attempted — trying to kin- 
dle a fire on the lower deck. Meanwhile he swal- 
lowed the cake with angiy vindictiveness to think 
it was so good, and that so small a portion had fallen 
to him. Alan had secured all his matches and 
set him down in the saloon with the command not 
to move until he had permission. He was coming 
now to get Mike to act as policeman until the cul- 
prit could be trusted alone, a commission as satis- 
factory to Mike as it was displeasing to Ansel mo. 
A few vigorous strokes from Mike’s sinewy fists 
did more in the way of immediate amendment 
than a good deal of moral suasion. There was 
scarcely honest soil enough in the poor boy’s na- 
ture for good seed to take root in, and moral 
suasion had hitherto been an unknown factor in 
his experience. In the Ivagoni family it was a 
blow in any case, whether the word fitted in 
or not. 

The following morning found Anselmo with an 
excellent appetite. He felt much better natured, 
and while waiting to be let out of his room he 
came to the decision not to forfeit his food, no 
matter what the provocation. At some future 
time there would be an opportunity for him to 
take his revenge without running the risk of such 
punishment. He had been tucked into a single 
stateroom by himself, his young gentleman posi- 
tively refusing to have him. When Alan came to 


II2 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


look after him he turned him back to attend to his 
toilet, a good deal of acquired grime from yester- 
day’s investigations adding to the duskiness of an 
already swarthy complexion. He applied soap 
and water vigorously and soon came out smiling 
as amiably as if he had not marred the harmony 
of the entire party the preceding day. 

By the exercise of a strong will-power and sel- 
dom-exercised self-control, he got through his 
breakfast respectably, but to maintain this out- 
ward calm the whole day through, and for many 
succeeding days, struck him as impossible. From 
his earliest recollection such an experience had 
not occurred. In the Lagoni household life was 
made up of a series of storms merely accentuated 
by intermittent and brief calms. 

The breakfast was so perfect, and his apprecia- 
tion of it so extreme, that he vaguely speculated, 
as he filed out on deck with the other boys, if it 
might not be possible to hold himself so far in 
check as to secure his share of good things the 
whole summer through. He found a stronger 
power than his own fierce will holding him, but 
the grip of habit was strong, and he knew if he 
gave way he certainly would suffer for it. 

Alan too, had been thinking out the task before 
him. Anselmo had been an experiment from the 
first. In the Italian mission school the fierce, 
uncurbed nature had attracted him. There were 


ANSKLMO 


II3 

in it such possibilities for suffering that he had 
felt a strong desire to be himself the destiny to 
change the current from misery toward self-con- 
trolled, humanized manhood. 

He feared the long, idle hours on shipboard for 
all the boys, but especially for him. When once 
out in the country they would have so much to 
interest them that he was sure their spare energy 
would not need to be exercised in quarreling. He 
had provided books and games to amuse them on 
rainy days and now decided to bring some of them 
out. Taking Anselmo with him to keep him out 
of mischief, he went in search of the games. 
When the trunk was found and opened Anselmo 
stood with gleaming, covetous eyes looking at the 
bright-covered books and boxes containing the 
games. 

“ Are them all for us ? ” he asked, greedily. 

u Yes.” 

“ Wonh you give me mine to keep myself? ” 

“ They are not for any single boy, but for all to 
enjoy together.” 

“ I want some of them all to myself,” he whined. 

“ Anselmo, I want you to overcome your covet- 
ous disposition. Remember, after this the surest 
way for you to lose anything will be your asking 
for it. I mean to help you all I can to get the 
victory over yourself.” 

“I don’t care,” he muttered, angrily, but still’ 

H 


1 14 the master of deepeawn 

surveyed the open trunk with hungry eyes. Alan 
selected a few picture books and games and then, 
followed by the boy, went to join the others. He 
soon had them all gathered around the tables in 
the saloon, taught them some games, and then 
left them to choose between them and the books 
for their amusement. For a while things went 
well, but after a while dissatisfaction arose over 
the results of the games. Each lad, of course, 
wanted to be on the winning side and in all proba- 
bility there would have been a repetition of the 
disgraceful scene of the preceding day, if the din- 
ner had not, about that time, begun to send forth 
its fragrance. 

Alan suggested to the young men at dinner that 
each one should take his own boy and look after 
him for the rest of the day, giving a few lessons 
on general behavior at the same time, since they 
were sadly needed. The suggestion did not re- 
ceive a very cordial response, but they compro- 
mised matters by taking them for a couple of hours. 

The other passengers on the steamship looked 
curiously at the company of young men who bore 
unmistakably, in dress and bearing, the mark of 
good breeding, and at the boys following them 
who, although their garments were new, were as 
clearly stamped as belonging to the other extreme 
of the social scale. The captain was interviewed 
by a good many on the subject, to all of whom he 


ANSELMO 1 15 

was forced to return the extremely unsatisfactory 
answer : 

“It is that young fellow in gray who seems to 
have them all in charge. I only know they are a 
lot of Brown students going down to Newfound- 
land for the summer. I have an idea that he is 
religious and is trying to reform the entire crowd, 
slummers and all, but I can tell you he has a 
tough job on hand, for there’s mischief in the 
whole lot. I can see that as plain as I can that 
gull.” 

But as the captain and passengers watched them 
day after day they were forced to admit that the 
young fellow in gray was equal to the task and had 
an ascendency over students and slummers alike 
that compelled them to yield to his will. 

They could not comprehend how one so young, 
and evidently belonging to the favored classes, 
could, of his free will, assume such thankless ser- 
vice. The betting class on board directed their 
attention to him, and for some time quite heavy 
sums of money were pooled upon his motive in 
the enterprise. There was some chagrin and a 
good deal of perplexity when one, bolder than the 
rest, approached him with the inquiry what his 
motive for undertaking such a task really was, 
and was answered as frankly as if it had been 
about his views on politics, or the commonplace 
concerns of every day. 


Il6 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

After a while each boy began to follow his spe- 
cial master, and before very long they developed 
so strong a pride of ownership that they were 
ready, at the slightest provocation, to enter the 
lists in his favor by a trial of their own strength. 

Several bloodless duels had been fought in out- 
of-the-way parts of the steamship, when Mike as- 
sured them it was not worth their while to debate 
the subject any longer, since his Mr. Rivers was 
worth all the rest of them put together. 


CHAPTER X* 


WITH GUN AND ROD 



'HEY left the steamship at St. John’s, where 


they found Gabe waiting for them. He 
surveyed the huge party doubtfully, especially 
the boys, and assured Alan it would take several 
canoe loads of food to last them two months, not 
reckoning the unlimited supplies of fish and game 
ready to their hand. 

“We shall take a large boat for the boys and 
the provisions ; I will not trust them to canoes.” 

“ It will cost great lot of money,” Gabe said, 
anxiously. 

“ There are thirteen of us to share the expense. 
I think you will find ns equal to it.” 

Gabe shook his head doubtfully. “ You only 
boys, all of you. They not mind what you say.” 

“We will see,” was the calm reply; and so, 
against his own judgment, Gabe undertook the 
conveyance of youths and stores to the same 
camping grounds used the previous summer. 

The trip in the schooner was a mixed experi- 
ence. The sea was rough and some of them were 
sick ; the quarters were crowded, and Alan was 
kept in constant anxiety lest some of his charge 


Il8 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

should fall overboard, as most of them ran the 
risk of doing, being both venturesome and ignor- 
ant of schooner life. They reached Bonavista at 
last, and every one, down to the cook in the gal- 
ley, breathed a sigh of relief when the vessel was 
tied to the wharf and the last of the passengers 
left the deck. 

All this was changed when that same afternoon 
they started inland. The boys were nearly wild 
with delight as they rowed up the winding river. 
The air, unstirred by other human beings, was like 
a wonderful tonic. The green depths of the un- 
broken forest, shutting them in like the walls of 
some vast cathedral, roused increasing wonder at 
the immensity of nature. They could scarcely 
be convinced that each hour they were passing 
through fresh aisles of the forest cathedral. 

“ Are you sure that we’re not winding round 
and coming over the same places ? I’ve seen trees 
and rocks like that a dozen times to-day,” Dandy 
said at last, bewildered utterly. 

“Yes, Dandy, every boat length takes us past 
trees you have never seen before,” Alan assured 
him ; “ besides, rivers do not have the habit of 
winding around and doubling upon themselves.” 

“ I wish we could come here and pick up the 
wood,” Anselmo said, covetously. Such waste of 
firewood as he saw along the shore was enough to 
make any boy’s heart ache who was in the habit 






u The rest of the ])arty proceeded to catch tish.’’ 






WITH GUN AND ROD 


II9 

of supplying the family kindlings from chance 
gleanings in street and by-way. 

They halted for an early supper, tied up their 
boat and canoes to the trees along shore, and then, 
near to the water’s edge, Gabe and the other boat- 
men built a fire, while the rest of the party pro- 
ceeded to catch fish. What raptures excited the 
boys as one after another dangled trout varying 
in length from four to twelve inches. It did not 
take them long to get enough for the entire party, 
and how they did enjoy that meal! The poor 
lads were not perplexed with napkins and other 
bewildering table appointments that had made 
eating on shipboard a mixed pleasure. They car- 
ried their plates, filled with fried trout, pork 
scraps, and roasted potatoes, out of sight of criti- 
cal eyes, and proceeded to enjoy these delicacies 
unfettered by knife or fork. There was plenty of 
water rushing wastefully past in which to remove 
all traces of the use of fingers. Mike and Dandy 
stayed manfully at their post ; the latter had been 
accustomed to knives and forks always, the for- 
mer was resolved on doing everything, as far as pos- 
sible, exactly like his young master. 

Gabe had watched the boys with curious and ab- 
sorbed interest. He hovered near while they 
ate, and certainly was not prepossessed with their 
aboriginal deportment. At the first opportunity 
he asked Alan if they were Christians. 


120 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


“With the exception of Dingwell they cer- 
tainly are not.” 

“ Are they Protestant ? ” 

“No, they are all Catholics except two.” 

“ May I talk to them about religion?” 

“ Certainly ; but are you not a Catholic? ” 

“ No, no,” with a very emphatic shake of the 
head ; “I Protestant. ” 

“ Why, how is that? I thought all the Indians 
here were Catholics. I never thought last year 
of asking you about it.” 

“I love the Bible. The minister, he tell me 
God has my name in book. . I take ministers from 
port to port in my boat ; they tell me of the L/ord 
Jesus. I hear them preach and pray. Then I 
take their religion ; it makes me clean and happy 
here.” He laid his hand on his heart. “Are you 
Protestant? ” 

“ Oh, yes, and I love the Lord Jesus too. That 
is why I bring all these young men and boys with 
me. You may help me a great deal with the 
boys. Talk to them of what you once were and 
what you are now.” 

“Yes, I tell them Catholic religion no good 
for Indian, no make him clean here and happy ; 
Protestant religion do both. Indian and white 
man just the same inside. I show them how to 
fish and hunt — tell them stories about Indians — 
then I tell them about God.” 


WITH GUN AND ROD 


I2I 


“ I wonder you never told me about tins last 
summer.” 

“You not talk to me either.” 

Alan smiled ; certainly it was his place as much 
as the Indian’s to speak about religion. 

“We pray for them. God hears prayers; book 
says so.” 

Alan nodded his head in silence ; he was getting 
a lesson from this dusky aborigine that few of the 
learned college dons had taught him. 

They embarked soon, and in the early twilight 
again moored their boats and this time pitched 
their tents. When all the work was done, Gabe 
drew Alan to one side and said : “ Our missioners 
always pray at night, under the open sky, on the 
snow, anywhere.” 

Alan’s face flushed. Did Gabe mean to ask 
him to do the same? He merely said “Yes,” 
with a rising inflection of voice. 

“ You pray to him ? 

“ I am not a minister. ” 

“ You Christian ; you tell me so.” 

Alan turned abruptly away and plunged into 
the dense forest. Gabe saw the look of dismay 
on the young man’s face and followed at a 
distance, thinking, perhaps he might forget him- 
self and go so far that he would be lost in the 
woods ; but he saw him instead, throw himself on 
the ground, and knew he had come for prayer. 


122 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


Gabe assumed the statuesque pose natural to bis 
race, and lifted bis heart in prayer that victory 
might be gained. At last Alan rose and went 
back to camp, Gabe silently following. 

The boys were scattered up and down the river, 
their shouts mingling shrilly with the songs of 
home-coming birds that were pouring their vesper 
hymns through the leafy colonnades. 

To say that the boys were happy would only 
half express the rapture that was reaching even 
to those dim regions of the soul that had never 
been stirred until now, for the reason that filth, 
and discord, and the poverty enclosed by grimy 
brick walls, could not possibly supply any food to 
the poetry and love of beauty that God has seen 
fit to plant in the dreariest, as well as the richest 
souls. Alas, in how many it is not awakened 
until other worlds open all the possibilities for 
bliss God has in reserve for us ! 

Dandy Dingwell took his joy more silently than 
the others for, mixed with it all was the memory 
of the pale, weary mother stitching in that vile 
atmosphere, with meagre fare, no rippling river 
for a lullaby, or singing birds to waken her in the 
early dewy morning. 

Anselmo forgot for a while to fight. There was 
such breadth and breathing room here, with such 
lavishness of beauty, that even his turbulent heart 
was for the time quieted ; besides, the other boys 


WITH GUN AND ROD 123 

had no desire to quarrel, which made it all the 
easier for him to keep the peace. 

Alan now got out his cornet from among quite a 
number of musical instruments he had provided, 
and gave the signal agreed upon at supper to 
summon all the party to camp. Soon the young 
men and lads came dropping in, somewhat sur- 
prised at the unexpected- call. Some of them 
noticed that he was pale, but they were none of 
them prepared for the announcement he made 
when the restless boys had become quieted. He 
spoke even sternly, because of his very nervous- 
ness. “ Boys, I have decided to read a chapter in 
the Bible to you every night, and to offer a prayer 
to God. I shall expect you to be always present 
and to listen quietly.” 

All the young gamins of the company had 
haunted the various missipns, more for what they 
might get and the disturbance they could make 
than for any other reason. Visions of the uproar 
they had raised in those places flitted before their 
minds, and the prospect of such a service seemed 
an addition to their good time. There were 
sundry winks and grimaces at the beginning, 
watched over by Gabe ; then an occasional 
snicker or muttered imprecation was heard ; but 
Alan read on, apparently paying no attention to 
anything but the words he was reading. 

Anselmo was beginning to grow hilarious when 


124 'I'HK master of DEEPEAWN 

he felt himself seized, and before he had time to 
scream he looked up into the face of young 
Mr. Blake, to whom he was supposed to belong 
for the time being. A low command to be quiet 
was given in such a way that Anselmo subsided 
directly into most decorous silence, for there was 
a suggestion that he might receive such a castiga- 
tion as he had aforetimes had from his grown-up 
brother Angelo. He .soon wished the prayer 
would cease, and wondered why praying had 
never seemed like this before. He shivered, al- 
though the air was balmy, while he wondered 
why the holy priests never made him feel that 
way, and then there crossed his mind the first 
vague doubt if the heretics after all might not be 
right. 

The prayer ended, they all rose silently, and 
soon the entire group had drifted away to their 
separate amusements. The boys by a common 
impulse gathered around a huge, uprooted tree 
that formed a splendid hiding place, with the 
river rolling just at their feet. Bach one was 
anxious to compare sensations with some one else, 
and as they one by one confessed how they had 
felt, it was both a relief and perplexity to find 
that most were similarly impressed. Even Jacob 
Molensky acknowledged that he had never felt 
quite so solemn before, and asked if the New Tes- 
tament was all as good as what Mr. Rivers had 


WITH GUN AND ROD 


125 


just read. The lads looked confused, scarcely 
liking to confess that the Testaments, New or Old, 
were alike sealed books to them. 

“ It’s every bit as good, only some few chapters 
with names in them,” Dandy ventured to reply at 
last. He had not been appealed to, but he was 
the only one who knew anything about it. 

‘*.1 wish I had one, I’d read it while I was here 
in the bush, and nobody ’d know,” Jacob said, 
wishfully. 

“ Blamed if I’m going to read the Bible ! I’ll 
have something else to do, catching fish and kill- 
ing things in the woods,” said, contemptuously, a 
bullet-headed boy, with a vicious type of face, 
who responded to the name of Patrick Sweeney. 

His remark had a steadying effect on the boys’ ‘ 
nerves, and the impression caused by the prayer 
very soon wore off, so that when the call was given 
to come in for the night they had, to all appear- 
ance, settled back into their accustomed mood, de- 
fensive and offensive. 

The next evening, later than the prayer, they 
found to their dismay there was an additional 
Scripture lesson awaiting them. They were sum- 
moned into the main tent, and found Alan with a 
heap of Bibles on a stand beside him, which had 
been improvised out of boxes. A lamp was burn- 
ing and rude seats of limbs arranged around the 
table. 


126 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


“ How many of you boys can read? ” 

Instantly every band went up. 

“ Every evening just before bedtime we will 
all assemble here and read together out of the 
Bible.” 

It was indeed a wonder that they submitted at 
all to this decree and the fact that they peaceably 
took off their hats and sat down on the rough 
seats provided, deserves notice. They began to 
read stumblingly at the second chapter of Matthew, 
and the word to leave off was not spoken until 
they had completed the chapter. 

“ That will do for to-night,” Alan said at last, 
to their immense relief. 

“Will we have to read that much every night? ” 
Anselmo asked, with a frown. 

“ Yes.” 

“Me fayther wouldn’t want me to be a read- 
in’ of it, if he knowed,” he of the red hair and 
freckled face feebly remonstrated. 

“ While you are with me you will be expected 
to do what I wish in this matter. Any boy who 
desires may return in the morning with the boat- 
men to Bonavista, and I will make arrangements 
for him to be forwarded to St. John’s and on to 
Providence,” Alan replied, glancing around at the 
clouded faces. Several of them had been on the 
point of seconding their comrade’s suggestion, but 
thought better of it, and not a word was spoken. 


WITH GUN AND ROD 


127 


The following morning they repaired to their 
council chamber, at the root of the upturned tree, 
and discussed the question with great seriousness, 
each one of them thinking some one else might 
voice the religious scruples of the rest The con- 
troversy soon grew heated, and at last they came 
to blows and profane language. They were in the 
midst of it when the Indian appeared and appealed 
directly to Dandy, who, with Jacob, had kept quiet 
during the debate, to know the cause of the dis- 
turbance. 

“It’s their religion they are fighting about.” 
Dandy spoke excitedly, for just then he spied An- 
selmo on the ground, and Mike pommelling him 
unmercifully. Gabe did not wait for further en- 
lightenment, but went in among them, pushing 
them right and left. When comparative order 
had been restored, Mike began an explanation, 
but Anselmo was on his feet in an instant ; he was 
smarting from Mike’s well directed blows, exter- 
nally, as well as from certain remarks respecting 
his countrymen in general, and the Dagoni fam- 
ily in particular. Gabe turned and gave him a 
vigorous shaking. 

“ You be quiet,” he said, sternly, still holding 
the boy. 

Anselmo began heaping up whispered epithets 
in Italian, to which Gabe paid no heed, but lis- 
tened calmly to Mike’s incoherent remarks. 


128 


THE MASTER OE DEEPLAWN 


“You got no religion to figlit about. You no 
better than heathen, may be not so good.’ ^ 

“ I guess we’re just like you,” Anselmo said, as 
he tried to free himself from the slender, nervous 
fingers of the Indian. 

“ No, not like me. I like you onee ; but I know 
better now. Good men tell me about God ; how 
he loves Indian just same as white man.” 

“Were you a Catholic once, like us?” Mike 
asked, incredulously. 

“ Yes ; we Indians nearly all that.” 

“ What made you turn ? ” 

Gabe sat down beside them. ‘ ‘ I tell you all 
about it, maybe you turn too some day. Mr. Riv- 
ers tell me Catholics often turn Protestants.” 

“ It’s a lie,” Anselmo hissed. 

“ Mr. Rivers not lie,” Gabe said, calmly. “ He 
know a lot better than little, dirty boy.” 

“ You be quiet or you will catch it by-and-by,” 
Mike said, sternly. Anselmo was forced to sub- 
side into sullen silence. 

The rest of the boys, nothing loth to hear a 
story, grouped themselves comfortably around 
Gabe and waited for him to begin. He sat for a 
moment absorbed in thought, the boys curiously 
watching the dusky face. His use of language 
was limited, showing a sublime disregard of con- 
junctions, prepositions, and adverbs, but this in no 
wise lessened the effect of his sentences. The 


WITH GUN AND ROD 


129 


boys from time to time exchanged conscious 
glances. He described more minutely than they 
could the prayers, genuflections, confessionals, 
and all the paraphernalia of the Romish ritual, 
which he had once regarded with a reverence 
amounting to adoration, and for which now he 
had only words of sorrow. He told them of the 
brave, self-denying preachers whom he had first 
despised and afterward learned to revere, whom 
he was employed to guide over those stormy 
waters and through the wilderness, from hamlet 
to hamlet along the coast. How at first he re- 
fused to be present in camp at morning and even- 
ing worship, but by degrees their brotherliness had 
won his grudging affection and he used to creep 
in to prayers in a shamefaced way. After a while, 
growing bolder, he used to attend the meetings held 
in the kitchens of the hardy fishermen, where the 
fervor of their devotions wakened in him sensa- 
tions never experienced before. It was a long 
story and he took his time. He liked to tell his 
experience, and never before had he found a more 
attentive group of listeners, or any for whom 
he felt such sympathy. The lads received his 
message in silence, even Jacob Molensky listened 
respectfully while he told how much the Rord 
Jesus had done for him. 

The story ended, the boys dispersed, only Dandy 
remaining to talk a little longer. 

I 


130 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

“ The boys are hard to get on with.” Dandy 
spoke sadly. 

“ Make them do better.” 

“ How can I ? ” 

“ Pray, that is best way ; then live.” 

“ They won’t know that I am praying, and 
they don’t watch me enough to know how I live.” 
Dandy sat thinking very busily ; no amount of 
good living on his part would influence Anselmo, 
he felt certain. Moreover, he was not anxious to 
have the fiery little Italian to dwell with him 
eternally, even in heaven. Since there was a 
place set apart for such persons, it might be just 
as well to let them take their course. 

Gabe’s next words made him heartily ashamed 
of his thoughts. 

“I feel most pity for the dark, wicked boy. 
Devil got strong grip on him. We try to help 
him.” 

“ Don’t you think it would be better to try 
some one likelier to be good?” Dandy asked, 
with some twinges of conscience. 

“No, he have hardest work to get up there.” 
He pointed skyward. 

“ I don’t think he ever can ; he is so bad every 
way.” 

“You never hear about publican? the Lord 
able to save everybody.” 

“ The publican prayed and wanted to be good ; 


WITH GUN AND ROD I31 

but Aiiselmo donH want to be better. He won’t 
let you help him.” 

Gabe sat looking silently out across the river. 
He had more thoughts than words to clothe them, 
and he could see God’s limitless love reaching far 
beyond Anselmo’s depravity. Presently there 
came angry voices from down the river, and they 
both started to find what disturbing element was 
now at work. Anselmo and Mike were fighting 
again, Anselmo, as usual, getting sadly worsted 
in the combat. His face was bleeding, but Mike, 
with angry distorted features, was raining the 
blows pitilessly on the helpless boy. Gabe seized 
one in each hand and held them quivering and 
squirming at arm’s length. He paid no attention 
to their explanations, but stood there as motion- 
less and silent as a bronze statue, the other boys 
also silenced by the stern face. Mike and An- 
selmo watched their comrades as their feelings 
gradually passed into terror. 

Dandy was not frightened, for he knew that 
the Indian was a Christian. He was delighted to 
see a new expression creeping into Anselmo’s 
face, though what it meant he was not able to 
tell. Maybe this mysterious Indian might be 
able to work a transformation in the lad’s nature 
that no one else could. Perhaps he had been 
brought here for just that purpose. Dandy grew 
so interested over his fancies that he threw him- 


132 the master of deeplawn 

self on the ground, willing to wait there any 
length of time. 

When the last of the other boys had disap- 
peared through the trees, Gabe dropped on his 
knees, the two lads following his example. I^oosen- 
ing his hold on Mike for an instant he took off 
his hat, lifted his face to the sky and began 
to pray. The words were not like those that Mr. 
Rivers had used the night before. They were 
broken and the grammar, even to Dandy’s obser- 
vation, very defective ; but underneath the mere 
speech was a great heart that brought its burden 
right into the presence of the King. 

Dandy was watching Gabe, for the time forget- 
ting the limp figures on each side of him, when a 
quick motion on Mike’s part drew his attention, 
and he was astonished to see that sturdy youth 
melted into tears. Anselmo was looking up into 
Gabe’s face, his fierce eyes gleaming under the 
clustering curls, his face ashen with fear or some 
equally strong emotion. The boys were begin- 
ning to recognize some awe-inspiring power out- 
side of the visible world, a wonderful Being to 
whom the Indian was speaking directly, talking 
about them and entering into very distasteful par- 
ticulars about their moral defects. It was a long 
prayer, but at last it was ended and Gabe arose, 
put on his hat, and walked away into the forest. 
The three boys watched him out of sight, then 


WITH GUN AND ROD 133 

looked furtively at each other. At last Anselmo 
broke the silence : 

“I say, it wasn’t fair for him to tell all that 
about us, and now he’s gone off to tell some more, 
likely. I’d enough sight sooner be a Catholic, 
for then you know when you’re forgiven, for the 
priest tells you so.” 

“ Maybe the priest don’t know any more about 
it than we do ourselves,” Mike said, indifferently. 
He had half a mind to follow Gabe and ask him 
to pray for him some more. It was so hard to do 
right, especially when Anselmo was so aggravat- 
ing, and it seemed necessary to administer pun- 
ishment when it was so richly deserved, besides, 
he had other temptations for which Anselmo was 
in no way to blame. 


CHAPTER XI 


IN THE RIVER 


HEN Alan and his friends set out on their 



V V holiday trip they left themselves free to 
extend their stay in those vast inland wilds 
as long as they chose. The air was so bracing, 
the days so full of adventure or delicious dream- 
like repose, whichever they preferred, that they 
scarcely desired to go back sooner than neces- 
sary to the haunts of civilization. 

They would go on long exploring expeditions 
into the interior, Gabe invariably being the leader 
on these excursions. All the boys were so un- 
willing to stay in camp to take care of the stuff, 
that after a while the rewards and punishments 
were adjusted by going with the others, or else 
remaining ingloriously in camp ; a young man 
whose turn had come to be in charge remaining 
with them. There were always enough boys in 
disgrace to keep him company. 

It was only by dint of wonderful self-control 
that Anselmo was able to go at all ; but this 
desirable end was at last achieved. When he 
started, one glorious August morning, in the early 
hush before the sun had risen, and while the 


IN THE RIVER 


135 


morning star still liung dimly above the treetops 
on the other side of the river, he received a most 
valuable lesson. The week-long battle that had 
been waged, his nobler self against the baser, was 
crowned now with glad victory, but as he glided 
up the river in the boat he had thoughts new and 
somewhat painful, notwithstanding the gladness 
he felt at being there. The world was so still 
about him, save the musical plash of the water, 
and the notes of the awakening birds, one could 
fancy that one might almost catch the sound 
of the growing leaves, or the thunder of rolling 
suns. 

All the world about Anselmo, the sounding 
water, the trees leaning loverlike toward the 
mirror of the river at their roots, the fringes of 
delicious bits of greenery, mossy knolls, ferns 
with their long slender stems and delicate fronds 
taking now the russet tinge of approaching 
autumn, came to his consciousness as vividly as if 
their reality had never been seriously questioned 
by philosophers. 

He had his own vague thoughts on these sub- 
jects, as tantalizing perhaps as those of the prac- 
tised philosopher. These scenes appealed to 
subtle faculties that the bits of sky caught through 
openings in brick and mortar, the crowded, dusty 
streets and shockingly defaced tenements that he 
had called home, had never awakened. This pure 


136 'THE MASTER OE DEERE AWN 

air and these healthful surroundings after his life- 
long encounter with defilement, were powerful fac- 
tors in the awakening of his nature, which Alan’s 
teachings, together with Gabe’s practical com- 
mon-sense talks, strengthened more than any one 
knew. 

Mike and Jacob and Dandy were of the party 
that day with nearly all the other lads. This trip 
had been particularly coveted by every one of the 
party. Gabe had doubted if it were safe to take 
so many in the boat and canoes, but nearly all of 
them could swim and the river for the most part 
was so narrow there was little danger of squalls 
reaching them. He had taken the precaution to 
group his passengers, as they embarked, as safely 
as possible. Dandy and Anselmo were put to- 
gether, for Gabe had found there was always less 
disturbance in Dandy’s vicinity than elsewhere 
among the boys. 

There were merry shouts across the water from 
boat to canoes ; restless hands impeded somewhat 
the men who used the oars and paddles, for the 
boys were full of life and anxious to be meddling. 
It was impossible to keep them quiet. 

They had nearly reached the end of their 
journey when, towering far into the blue sky 
before them, they saw the mountain that was the 
objective point of that day’s expedition. Gabe 
had described the view to be obtained from its 


IN THE RIVER 


137 


summit as so extensive that they were anxious to 
see for themselves if his report was not exag- 
gerated. Another attraction was the fact that he 
assured them only the most expert climber could 
scale its rugged sides. The boys were to be left 
midway, where the ascent became most pre- 
cipitous, in charge of one of the young men whose 
lungs were too weak to bear such a strain. 

While every eye was fixed on the hill before 
them there was a sudden splash, followed by a 
shrill scream, and a shock of black hair disap- 
pearing beneath the water was all they could see 
when they looked in the direction of the cry. A 
moment later there was another splash and Gabe, 
divesting himself of shoes and coat, jumped in 
after Anselmo. The boy in his restlessness had 
reached too far over the side of the boat and, 
being unable to swim, sank directly. 

Every paddle was held suspended, and anxious 
faces watched Gabe as he floated on the water, his 
keen eyes watching for the boy. It seemed a 
good while to the watchers, but it was in reality 
only a few seconds until he had Anselmo in his 
grasp and was swimming for the shore, the canoes 
all following in his wake. The boy had lost 
consciousness, but the time was so short between 
the accident and rescue, it was not long until the 
black eyes looked up, bewildered at the group of 
anxious faces bending near. He shivered ; for the 


138 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

morning was a trifle chilly and he was already 
cold when he fell into the river and, at the best 
of times, his vitality was low. 

Alan wrapped a rug around him and lifted him 
into the boat again, then they pushed off and 
started on their way. A silence had fallen over 
the merry crowd ; there were no longer gay 
snatches of music and laughter in response to the 
notes of the feathered songsters in the trees. 
Amid the springing life, death had just intruded 
its grim front and looked at them from those 
dangerous depths whose waters murmured so 
cheerily against their birch canoes. The lads sat 
circumspectly on their narrow seats, and gave no 
further trouble until they had landed at the base 
of the mountain. 

As they stepped on shore Alan looked down at 
the limp figure in his arms, on the pale face and 
drooping lids and drew him closer to him, for the 
lad’s ^helplessness appealed strongly to his sym- 
pathy. Then he looked up and said : 

“The rest of you can go on and climb the 
mountain. I will stay and look after Anselmo.” 

Gabe remonstrated. “ You wanted to see it 
more than anybody. Let some one else stay. ” 

“ No, I will stay,” he said decisively, as he laid 
Anselmo carefully down in the canoe on a bed 
they had fitted for him out of overcoats and rugs. 

The party was eager to begin the ascent, and 


IN THE RIVER 


139 


without waiting any longer they took their pro- 
visions and started. Dandy followed a little way 
and then halted. He looked back at Alan, left 
lonely on the bank, and forward at the rapidly 
disappearing party. He too, was as eager as the 
others to look down from the mountain side on 
the scene below, but it seemed ungrateful for all 
of them to go away thinking only of their own 
pleasure and leave the two alone ; besides, a day 
alone with Mr. Rivers had in it possibilities for 
enjoyment that no mountain climbing or views 
could possibly have. He watched them far up 
the mountain side, their cheerfulness fully re- 
stored. Gay laughter and shouts floated down on 
the clear morning air. 

Alan took a book from his pocket, and seating 
himself on a mossy bed near the canoe, appeared 
to have forgotten both Anselmo and the merry 
crowd of excursionists. Dandy sat for a long 
time watcffiig the tiny ripples breaking along the 
shore and the shadows shortening on the hillside 
as the sun crept up the sky. He began to think 
he had been foolish to miss the fun of the long 
day’s jaunt with the others, since it bade fair to be 
a very dull day — Anselmo sleeping heavily in the 
canoe, and Mr. Rivers apparently as unconscious 
of the world about him as the sleeping boy. 

But in the deep hush that enfolded him. Dandy 
began to find that there were other pleasures in 


140 THE MAwSTER OF DEEPLAWN 

this world besides mere noise and activity. The 
very silence seemed to open communion with 
nature. While listening to the different sounds 
of bird and insect and the sighing wind among 
the trees, he began wondering why God had filled 
these vast solitudes so full of happy life, wonder- 
ing too, where each twig would find a shelter 
when the storms of winter were raging. Was it 
possible that they were all frozen, so that fresh 
creation would be necessary each succeeding 
springtime ? 

He looked across at Alan at last, wishing to ask 
him about all these new questions when, to his 
surprise, he found the clear brown eyes regarding 
him intently, and with such a kindly look that 
he felt more than repaid for his sacrifice. 

“I thought until just now that I was alone here 
with Anselmo ; why didn’t you go with the 
others? ” 

Dandy looked down shyly, but with rosy cheeks 
managed to answer : “I thought, sir, it would be 
lonesome for you here all day alone.” 

“ That was very thoughtful of you, but I am 
afraid you will be lonely yourself ; however, I ap- 
preciate your generosity more than I can make 
you understand, I fear.” 

Dandy’s face brightened at this, and he said : 
“ I have been listening quietly here and looking 
around me, it’s so unlike when the boys are mak- 


IN THE RIVER 


141 

ing a noise. It seems I’ve never seen things just 
this way before. It’s a curious sort of world, 
don’t you think it is, sir ? ” 

“ In what way do you mean is it curious ? ” 

“ Oh, well, it seems so much of everything 
going to waste here, wood and water and green 
things, and there’s so much more air and sunshine 
than we have at home. It’ll be bad enough in 
those close rooms where mother and the girls are 
to-day. Why, the broad avenues, where the swell 
folk live and that us fellows thought must be near 
as good as heaven itself — perhaps better, for all 
we knew — aren’t equal to this. They haven’t 
that beautiful river and the green places away 
among the trees, nor the woodsy smell, nor the 
birds, only the prisoner kind that are caged up.” 

“You are quite a poet, my boy.” 

“ I don’t know, sir ; but I think it’s fine, just 
you and me talking here together ! ” The boy’s 
face was a picture of delight. 

“ Yes, we are becoming very good friends, and 
I hope we will have pleasure in each other’s com- 
pany a great many years, even long after our 
bodies will have gone to dust.” 

“ Do you mean in heaven, sir? ” Dandy asked, 
reverently. 

“Yes, in heaven. We know that death is not 
far away, although it may seem hard to realize it 
now when we are young and strong, but think of 


142 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


all the generations that have lain down in the 
long sleep since Job asked : ‘ If a man die, shall 
he live again ? ’ ” 

“ They will live again — all who have died ? 
Don’t you think so, sir ? ” 

“ I do not think anything about it, I simply ac- 
cept it, tremendously impossible as it may seem 
to me, since Christ has told us that he is the 
resurrection and the life.” 

“ I like to talk to you, sir ; you seem to make 
God and heaven very near to me.” 

“Do you think how rich God must be when 
he has so much beauty to bestow on these out- 
of-the-way places ? ” 

“I do not think I ever thought of it, sir ; but 
isn’t it just as easy, when he was making things, 
to make them beautiful ? ’ ’ 

“We know nothing of the effort required in 
creation, but looking at such lavish expenditure 
of beauty sets me thinking.” Alan then sank 
into silent thought. Dandy waited awhile for 
him to continue and then asked, timidly : 

“ Would you please to tell me what it makes 
you think of ? ” 

“ Many things : first, perhaps, how much God 
must have in store for us when we come to see 
him face to face ; and then I think how rich and 
glorious he must be, and how wonderful it is that 
he should let me talk with him every day.” 


IN THE RIVER 


143 


“Does God talk with you?’^ Dandy was on 
his feet now close to Alan’s side and looking down 
at him in deep amazement. 

“ Yes, every day, many times a day. It was he 
who told me to bring you lads out here.” Dandy 
stood some moments in silence, and then he said, 
softly : 

“ I think I understand. Wasn’t it good of him 
to remember us in this way ? ’ ’ 

“Ah, my boy, it is his goodness that makes my 
heart so glad always — in spite of everything.” 

“ You surely have nothing, sir, to make you sad. 
The boys tell me you are very rich, and you are 
strong and so handsome.” He ended with a little 
break in his voice. He scarcely knew if it were 
just the thing to mention that last fact, but Mr. 
Rivers did look such a splendid specimen of 
young manhood that Dandy felt it was more than 
could be expected of him to keep silent on the 
subject. He was suddenly brought back to stern 
realities by Mr. Rivers’ next remark. 

“ Riches are sometimes the ruin of people — a far 
worse curse than poverty — ^and they have been 
ever since the days of Dives and Dazarus.” Dandy 
was surprised at the bitterness with which he 
spoke. Neither could he understand how riches 
and good looks, two of the coveted gifts of life in 
which he was painfully deficient, unless a pair of 
luminous brown eyes might be excepted, could 


144 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


fail to make tlieir possessor other than perfectly 
happy with his allotments. 

A movement in the canoe interrupted their con- 
versation. Anselmo had wakened, and not find- 
ing himself in a comfortable frame of mind, was 
expressing discontent in a way more in keeping 
with his accustomed surroundings. Alan went to 
him, followed closely by Dandy. 

“What did you let me go to sleep for? I want 
to climb the mountain too,” he said, fretfully. 

Alan made no reply, but took the hot hand in 
his, laying his finger on the pulse. 

“ My head aches and I’m tired,” he said, laying 
his head down again on the pillow of coats. Alan 
looked at him anxiously. The pulse was high 
and already the face was crimson with fever. He 
could hardly understand why a brief plunge in 
that warm river should affect the lad so seriously. 
Probably it did no harm, with the exception of the 
shock to a system weakened by long-continued 
privation. Whatever the cause, Anselmo had 
every symptom of being on the brink of a se- 
vere illness. It seemed strange how much per- 
plexity the boy had been to him from the very 
first, but as he bent over him trying, if possible, 
to add in some way to his comfort, a glance into 
the sorrowful face made his heart as tender toward 
him as it would have been to even Dandy under 
similar circumstances. 


IN THE RIVER 


145 


They had their dinner together, Alan and 
Dandy, but Anselmo refused to taste of food. 
He seemed to be growing very much worse as the 
day wore on, and Dandy found there was little 
chance for another quiet chat with Mr. Rivers. 
As he sat and watched Alan bathing the boy’s hot 
temples, he said : 

“You are almost as kind as one’s own mother 
could be. Had you a very good mother, sir ? ” 

“ I was too young when I lost my mother to re- 
member her, but I have been told she was one of 
the loveliest women that God blesses our poor 
world with.” 

“ That must be the reason you are so good. You 
are a strong man and yet you seem like a woman 
too ; you are so gentle and yet stern when we do 
wrong.” 

“You are very frank in your criticisms.” 

“I’d rather talk things to the people themselves, 
especially kind things. It don’t do much good to 
talk faults over to others and then make believe 
we don’t see anything. In sorqe ways it is not a 
very nice world to live in, the people are so hard 
to get on with.” 

“Yes, but all we need be anxious about is to do 
our work for God’s approval.” 

“ It seems a long time to wait to get our pay for 
being good when we die,” Dandy said wearily. 

Alan smiled, but did not reply, for he was 

K 


146 the master of deeplawn 

needed just then by Anselmo, who seemed to be 
growing delirious. 

It was a very tired company of youths who 
came trooping down the mountain side about an 
hour before sunset. The day had been a very 
joyous one however, they every one agreed, and 
each in his own way voiced his ideas of what was 
its best feature. 

They had caught trout from the mountain 
streams. From rocky peaks far up in the moun- 
tain, upon which the late golden glow was now 
resting, they had caught glimpses of the distant 
sea and vast areas of inland wildernesses. There 
had been merry scrambles over giant trees pros- 
trate in their path, and as they climbed higher, the 
open spaces, where all around them nature stood 
silent in her vastness, had brought a hush, some- 
times, over the noisiest spirits among them. To 
complete all, there was the merry dinner, which 
had a flavor that only dinners eaten under such 
fine conditions can have — appetites whetted by 
joyous exercise of every tiny muscle in the body, 
with air as pure as that breathed by the patriarchs 
when the world was young. 

They ceased their merry shouts when they came 
near enough to see the figure lying in the boat. 
Gabe was at the rear of the procession, and was 
the last to join the circle that had formed around 
Alan and his charge. His trained eye saw at 


IN THE RIVER 


147 


once that it was a case of very serious illness. He 
quickly drew the lads away and had them embark 
as swiftly and silently as possible, then launching 
the boat in which Anselmo lay, they started 
homeward. 


CHAPTER XII 


IN THE BORDER EAND 


HERE were days and nights of anxious 



A watching after that. Gabe had assured 
them it would be dangerous to start on the home- 
ward journey with the lad in such a state. He 
had nursed many a one through long sicknesses, 
and in this case felt confident that he could ac- 
complish as much toward a cure as any of the 
doctors in the little port, their nearest approach to 
civilization. As for the chemist’s drugs, he had 
whole acres of the best medicines in their natural 
state in the forest around them. With these ready 
to his hand and with the knowledge of their heal- 
ing properties, he felt confident that he could 
fight the battle with disease successfully. Alan 
felt a confidence in him that was purely instinct- 
ive, since he had never seen anything of his skill 
in this direction, none of them, thus far, having 
had any need of a physician since they left Boston. 

But in spite of Gabe’s skill and tireless care, 
Anselmo grew weaker. The boys were permitted 
to steal to his bedside, one or two at a time, to 
look at the white face with the gleaming eyes, iu 
which there was no light of recognition. A husli 


IN THE BORDER LAND 


149 


fell upon the camp. The merry shout or angry 
exclamation seldom broke the enfolding stillness. 

They would go off in the early morning, with 
their lunch, on long expeditions in charge of some 
members of the party clever enough to guide 
their way back by the pocket compass and the 
sun. They were all glad to escape from the camp 
where the shadow of death might be hovering, 
seeming so out of place here amid all the abundant 
life — far different from the slums they called home, 
where death was a regular and very often a wel- 
come visitor. The boys would have long talks 
together as they trudged along or lay resting on 
the mossy banks watching the river flowing stead- 
ily to the sea. They would speculate about An- 
selmo’s chances for recovery, with perplexed ques- 
tionings as to his destiny in case of death. They 
wondered if the prayers that were being offered 
for him every day were, after all, any good to him 
when he could not understand a word of them, 
and whether other people’s prayers were much 
help to one, anyway. 

“ Blest if I can see what good they can do fora 
fellow,” Bob White said. He was one of the most 
skeptical of the crowd in matters religious and 
social. 

“ The Bible says we are to pray for all men. 
Mr. Rivers told me that one day himself, and he 
says it must do good or we wouldn’t be told to do 


150 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

it.” Dandy stood up for orthodoxy on all occa- 
sions. “ Maybe it helps keep ns more in God’s 
mind ; you see he has so much to look after.” 

“ If he forgot like that I guess we’d be a sight 
worse off’n we are,” Bob responded, gloomily. 

Jacob began complaining then about Anselmo. 

“ He’s been giving trouble from the first. Now 
he’s just spoiling everything,” he spoke in an un- 
reasoning way, as if poor Anselmo could help 
being sick. 

“ What nonsense to be a talking that way, ’ ’ Mike 
said. “ You hate that Eyetalian so bad you’ll be 
blamin’ him next time it rains, I expect.” 

“ Gabe told Mr. Rivers, when I was in Ansel- 
mo’s tent this morning, that we’d know by to- 
morrow if he’ll live or die,” Dandy said. 

This announcement had a very subduing effect 
on the boys. Jacob looked conscience-smitten be- 
cause of his remarks, and the others began talk- 
ing about what it must seem like to be starting 
out all alone, without one’s body even to keep 
company with the spirit, on the long journey to 
another world. 

“ Do you suppose he will look at us before he 
starts?” a superstitious little fellow asked anx- 
iously. He was always on the lookout for ghosts 
and disagreeable apparitions of all kinds. The 
fact ihat his diligence in watching for them had 
never been rewarded in no way discouraged him. 


IN THE BORDER LAND I5I 

“I guess lie’ll have other things to look after 
that’ll be more important, but maybe he won’t 
die ; don’t let us bother about it till we have to.” 

Bob White’s way of looking at it cheered 
them somewhat, but nevertheless, painful expect- 
ancy was in every boy’s mind, and he of the fear- 
ful heart concluded that he would lie awake all 
night and keep watch near the door of the tent. 
Frightened though he might be, he would dearly 
like to see how Anselmo looked when free from 
his body ; he fancied he would have a very cross- 
looking soul. The boys all seemed anxious to 
keep as close together as possible, as though they 
were fearful if left alone they might catch a 
glimpse of the death angel. All day long they 
could talk of nothing save those topics perplexing 
alike to philosophers and the ignorant child — the 
“ afterward ” of death — the loneliness of the soul 
in the regions beyond. A few of them, like Bob 
White, were inclined to skepticism, and doubted 
if there were other worlds or intelligent beings 
save our earth and its tenants, while they con- 
tended if Anselmo did cease to live that day his 
fiery spirit should be extinguished like a lamp 
blown out ; if not it would be a mistake, for he 
would be a terror to any one who might be his 
neighbor in other worlds some thousands of years 
hence. 

Night fell at last; the lights were all put out 


152 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


save in the sick boy’s tent, and then their fears 
really grew overmastering. They were afraid to 
open their eyes lest some vision not wholesome 
for mortals to behold might greet them. Stories 
of the supernatural, death warnings, and appari- 
tions, had been discussed in broad daylight. Now 
they came to mind with a vividness painfully dis- 
tinct, but sleep was too powerful for them, and one 
by one they dropped off without anything more 
alarming than their own fancies to disturb them. 
They did not waken until they heard the birds 
in the trees overhead trilling their ecstasies and 
on opening their eyes found that the sun was 
throwing glints here and there amid the shadows 
of the foliage. 

The first question was for Anselmo, but they 
were alone in the tent and were equally ig- 
norant of his condition. Dandy was the first 
dressed and he sped across to the tent where the 
sick boy lay, his heart beating fast with anxiety. 
Gabe stood at the door looking intently at the 
river that was rippling under the fresh breeze. 
He glanced calmly down at Dandy, who was gasp- 
ing out his inquiries, and only said : 

“ He is going to live.” 

Dandy had grown used to the Indian’s laconic 
answers, and without asking further particulars, 
he hastened back with the good news. A mufiled 
sound came back from the other tent. Gabe 


IN THE BORDER LAND I53 

smiled, for he knew it was the cheer that had 
greeted Dandy’s announcement. 

It was astonishing with what zest the boys re- 
sumed their interrupted avocations. Even the 
daily lessons seemed to be enjoyed, while it mat- 
tered little to them whether the trout responded 
to their enticements of worm and fly, since they 
chatted right along with each other and planned 
how generous they were going to be with An- 
selmo when he was with them once more. They 
were ignorant of the ravages severe sickness 
makes, and fancied that in a few days he would 
be able to take his place among them. 

The young men had been watching the case 
critically, and were inclined to question the wis- 
dom of submitting it entirely to an untutored In- 
dian. There were in the party two young men, 
medical students from Boston. Their training 
taught them that the case from the first was very 
serious. They watched the gathering of herbs 
and roots and the processes through which they 
were put, as well as the altogether original treat- 
ment of the patient, and had a strong interest in 
watching the development of the disease. 

When they saw the triumph of these simple 
remedies over disease they were generous enough 
to acknowledge their admiration of the Indian’s 
skill, and admitted to Alan the wisdom of his 
decision, as well as their belief in other cura- 


154 'I'HK mast^:r of dekplawn 

tive measures than those taught in the schools. 
Toward the crisis Gabe had scarcely left the sick 
boy, while Alan noticed on his face the pre-occu- 
pied, intense look that he had seen in times of 
danger, when they were shooting the rapids or 
facing a sudden squall on the river. 


CHAPTER XIII 


HOME AGAIN 

T he summer under the trees had become a 
memory only, the tents were folded, and the 
canoes turned toward civilization as soon as An- 
selmo was able to be moved. 

To say that there was regret at leaving the 
green, quiet places under the trees, the shady 
pools along the river banks, which the trout had 
haunted undisturbed for ages, would only mildly 
express the sentiments of each lad. There had 
_not been a single case of homesickness since the 
steamer sailed out of Boston harbor, until that 
last evening under the trees, as they sat talking of 
the past and future, there were some very acute 
cases ; but it was the home they were leaving, and 
not the tainted abodes whither they were going, 
that caused the general depression. 

Anselmo was able now to sit up with the boys 
for an hour at a time, listening to the tales of 
their exploits while he was sick. Nearly all of 
them had some hair-breadth escape from drowning 
or from beasts of prey to relate, but as much of 
the danger existed only in their imaginations, they 
were mutually forbearing in their criticisms. 

155 


156 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

Ansel mo surprised them by his gentleness as he 
listened to the apocryphal experiences of his com- 
rades. He did not once hint that they had de- 
veloped an alarming gift for lying during his sick- 
ness. They remarked confidentially with each 
other on this amazing change, speculating about its 
cause and if it did not portend some such disaster 
as death, or another spell of sickness. 

Dandy kept his own counsel ; he had been 
taken farther into Anselmo’s confidence in the 
long hours, when he alone of all the boys had 
been allowed to sit with the sick lad. He believed 
that Anselmo, notwithstanding his illness, had 
found something better than anything the others 
had gained that summer, to take back with him 
to the troubled life from which he had enjoyed 
a brief respite. 

The improvement in deportment was not con- 
fined alone to Anselmo. On their homeward jour- 
ney in the steamer, the same in which they had 
come, the crew remembered the youthful voyagers 
very distinctly, and were quite as much impressed 
with the change as the lads themselves. It was 
not in morals and deportment alone, but they had 
developed healthfully ; the rosy, sunburned cheeks, 
and well-rounded forms proved that there had been 
an all-around development. While they waited 
in St. John’s for the steamer, the young men 
had taken considerable pride to get their youthful 


HOME AGAIN 


157 


squires new suits of clothes. The thirteen lads 
walked on board the steamer, that September day, 
with a sense of exhilaration that only youth well 
satisfied with things in general could feel. 

As they steamed down the harbor, each individ- 
ual among them felt that his personal appearance 
was the special object for admiration, and they 
were so busy thinking about themselves, they 
failed to notice particularly the splendid view of 
cliff and harbor. Kach young man regarded his 
own rosy-faced boy with a gratified sense of own- 
ership. Although few of them acknowledged it, 
most of the young men knew that the summer 
had been, on the whole, the very best in their 
lives. Yet the expense had been a mere bagatelle 
compared with what such summers usually cost 
their parents or guardians. They had found that 
helping others, being taken out of self, and coming 
in such close contact with cramped lives, to whom 
even the simple delights of nature meant so much, 
had done them more good than a lifetime at Tong 
Branch or Saratoga. 

By the time they had touched the wharf, and 
the city sights on Commercial Street greeted 
them, Anselmo was nearly as strong as ever ; but 
Frank Blake, whose special property he had been 
during the summer, had concluded to try for a little 
I longer what pure food and air would do for his 
charge. His father had a summer residence among 


158 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

the boulders on the Gloucester coast, within easy dis- 
tance of Mother Ann’s rugged profile, and thither 
he intended taking the lad for a few more weeks. 
To the surprise of his comrades, Anselmo was 
eager to visit the single room in an alley where 
his parents burrowed. Mr. Blake, to the surprise 
of his comrades, offered to accompany him to 
Providence, as he wished to catch a glimpse of what 
the world provides for some of its inhabitants. 

After reaching Providence, the good-byes of the 
young men who remained were spoken linger- 
ingly, Alan staying to the last. When he was 
alone with the twelve remaining boys, he had a 
proposition Ito make that lifted the cloud that had 
been gathering on a dozen different faces. After 
a couple of days spent with their friends at home, 
they were all to meet him at the railway station, 
at a certain hour, to go with him to Deeplawn for 
a week, where he promised they should have a 
chance to get acquainted with the country, as the 
labor of man had modified its primal conditions. 

Some of the boys knew what to expect ; others 
were as ignorant of farm life as the native Fijian. 
They said good-bye to him, and went quite con- 
tentedly now on their way homeward. Those 
among them who had been fortunate enough to 
have been favored by the Fresh Air Fund, en- 
deavored, to the best of their ability, to describe 
their impressions of farm life, but their experi- 


HOME AGAIN 


159 


ences were so conflicting, and at the best, so lim- 
ited, that only a hazy idea could be gathered from 
all put together. 

“ You can’t just know what it’s like till you 
get there,” Bob White assured them. “ The cows 
are drove in from the pastures at night, and their 
breath smells sweeter than scent. One of them’ll 
give a big bucket of milk, and they take it into 
a milk room that’s built over a brook, and they 
run it through a sieve, and after that it’s ready for 
you to drink all you want.” 

Dandy smacked his lips as he thought of those 
possible evening draughts. 

“ Milking time’s only one of the good things,” 
Mike said, loftily. “ There’s horses and colts and 
the fowls — all sorts of gabblin’ critters they are, 
too. And such vittels ! Arnold’s ain’t a circum- 
stance to it. The missus laughed when I asked 
her if she put hartshorn in her cooking to make 
it light, same as they do here.” 

“ Does she ? ” one of them asked, anxiously. 

“ I guess not ! Country people has other things 
besides pisen stuff to make their cakes look well, 
real butter and eggs, and things like them.” 

‘ ‘ I wish there was more country and less city, 
so’s we could all be among the cows and green 
things. How bad things smell here, anyway!” 
Jacob Molensky drew his breath uncertainly. 
There were surely very different odors in the 


l6o THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

stuffy court which they were just entering, than 
upon the breezy uplands of those vast Newfound- 
land solitudes. 

“ Injuns ain’t to be as much pitied as us folks 
what lives here. They’ve got plenty of room, and 
if their camps is small, they’ve all out doors to 
walk ’round in, besides fishin’ and gunnin’,” Mike 
said, as he turned up a rickety flight of stairs that 
led to the garret where his parents and some half- 
dozen children made what shift they could in two 
rooms under the eaves. The building was high, 
the odors increasingly unwholesome as they as- 
cended. Every one of the boys had asked to ac- 
company Mike as he was the first one to reach 
home, in order to witness his welcome, or help to 
protect him in case his parents were in liquor, 
which was their usual condition when funds would 
permit. 

“ Say, boys ! let us start off somewheres in the 
country, and get ourselves places. We can’t stay 
here after knowin’ what good things there are.” 
Mike’s face looked the picture of despair as he 
spoke. 

“ I’ll go with you wherever ye likes,” was the 
willing response from several of the boys. 

Alan was speculating that day as he glanced 
through the car windows at wholesome-looking 
farmsteads, nestling amid meadows and quiet 
gardens, if it were really a kindness to these poor 


HOME AGAIN 


l6l 


waifs to give them glimpses of a better life, and 
then turn them adrift again. If he could have 
followed them to Mike’s abode he would have felt 
more deeply for them than ever. 

They halted at the door. Jacob glanced around 
at the dismal scene. “ I’ll go with ye,” he said 
valiantly. “We’d not be tramps anyway, for 
we’d be lookin’ for work.” 

“ I won’t stay here long,” Mike said, as the dis- 
cordant cries of the children, mingled with oaths 
uttered by a woman’s shrill voice greeted their 
ears. “I’d sooner be a tramp or dead.” This 
was certainly a very unnatural remark for a boy, 
but if one could actually see the place he called 
home, the woman he called mother, he might not 
be surprised. 

“It’s no use waitin’ out here. We might as 
well go ill,” one of them said impatiently. 

Mike pushed open the door, and such a scene of 
desolation met their view that even these boys, 
accustomed to such scenes, turned away in dis- 
gust. The father lay, a drunken heap, in the 
corner ; the mother only half-satisfied with the 
portion falling to her share, was dealing blows 
among her children, to guilty and innocent alike. 
Flies were in possession of the puny, starving 
infant and the bloated man. Mike stood still and 
looked around. His mother’s attention was drawn 
to the door and seeing Mike, her rage suddenly 
L 


i 62 


THE MASTER OE DEEPLAWN 


turned to maudlin affection. She attempted to 
clasp him in her arms but he adroitly eluded her 
embrace and left poor Dandy to take the violent 
hug that made him fairly groan. 

“It’s me you’re kissing, ma’am, and not your 
own boy,” he panted, trying with all his might to 
disentangle himself from the grimy arms. 

“ It’s no differ, for ye’re a luv ov ab’y; and what 
a foine, dacent crowd ye be! ” She still steadied 
herself on Dandy, looking sweetly around on the 
twelve pairs of staring eyes. 

“ I’d scursely known wan av yez! sich clothes — 
ye looks, ivery wan av ye, loik young gentlemen. 
Now ye’ve surely got somethin’ in yer pockets ; 
Michael, darlint, jist run to the corner wid the 
bottle, and get me somethin’ to drink yer healths 
in. Sorra a bite have I got in the house the day, 
or sup ayther, or I’d stand treat meself.” 

She staggered to the table and got the bottle. 

“ I have no money to buy whisky with. If I 
had I’d get vittels for these hungry young ones,” 
he said, angrily. 

“ Whist now, or ye’ll be wakin’ him ; and me b’y 
ye can run away and trade off them foine shoes 
ye’ve got on ye. B’ys are better runnin’ barefut 
this hot weather, anyway — or the bundle in yer 
hand, ye can take that.” 

She made a surge toward him to get possession 
of the bundle but he passed it to Dandy. 


HOME AGAIN 


1^3 

“ Take this and go home all of you. If she is 
drunk she is my mother,” he said, with crimson 
face. 

“Who says I’m drunk?” she screamed, and 
made a plunge at the nearest boy, but he dodged, 
and for a few seconds there was a scramble to see 
who would be first out of the door. Mike held 
his mother. She was wild now with anger and 
greed. That precious bundle disappearing through 
the door might mean a good many drinks ; but 
Mike had developed in muscle as well as flesh 
during the last few weeks, and she felt herself 
powerless to move, while he clutched her so 
tightly. 

“ Would ye see your own mother robbed ? ” she 
screamed. 

“ I’m not going to see meself robbed any 
longer,” was the cool reply, as he loosened his 
grasp and backed carefully out of the room. 

“It’s a mean home-coming sure enough,” he 
muttered as he picked his way down the creaking 
stairs, at the same time paying scant heed to the 
frantic remonstrances of his mother. 

“ I’ve picked up many a supper before now, and 
I can do the same again, but it comes harder after 
the feastin’ I’ve had,” he soliloquized. “ Market 
waste won’t taste very good after the vittels I’ve 
been havin’. ” He was soon standing over a barrel 
of garbage outside one of the markets. He 


164 the master of deepeawn 

managed to fish out some partly decayed fruit and 
a carrot or two, and with this he had to be satisfied. 
Tlie evening fortunately was clear, and with his 
stout suit of clothes he could be very comfortable 
curled under a tree in one of the squares, where 
the grass, though it was clipped provokingly 
short, was yet softer to lie on than the wooden 
seats. 

“ Blest if I don’t have something softer than 
this for poor b’ys when I’m an alderman ! ” He 
spoke feelingly, wishing meanwhile that some of 
those great stone buildings, for the most of the 
time unoccupied, could have some of their empty 
spaces fitted up with hammocks or cots for just 
such roofless waifs as he to creep into. He slept 
soundly, notwithstanding his hard bed and un- 
sheltered head, waking in the morning with an 
appetite too that some of the rich men sleeping 
hard by would have given a good many dollars to 
possess — so well-balanced are our human allot- 
ments. 

He arose, and washing his face at one of the 
fountains, proceeded down town to do his share of 
disseminating the history of the world for that day. 
His face was familiar at the “Journal” office, for 
he was one of their most enterprising salesmen, and 
he felt certain his credit would be good enough 
to start him once more in business. He was the 
earliest customer on the ground, and was able to 


HOME AGAIN 


165 

explain matters so satisfactorily that a good bundle 
was entrusted to him, when he started out feeling 
quite sure of a breakfast and some capital be- 
sides for setting up in business. Before nine 
o’clock his stock of papers was exhausted, he had 
settled his account at the office, and was strength- 
ened by a breakfast that made full amends for the 
shortage of supplies the preceding evening. He 
went then in search of Dandy and his bundle of 
clothes. 

He must have had a thrifty ancestor somewhere 
in those remote Irish bogs, who had bequeathed 
to him the faculty of self-help and economy — not 
a trifling capital for any boy to begin the world 
with. Dove of kindred, that mysterious instinct 
we And in all sorts and conditions of men, and 
which often surprises while it charms us and 
strengthens our faith in the ultimate uplifting of 
human nature, was fully developed in Mike. He 
lingered at the entrance to their court, hoping to 
get a glimpse of some member of his family, but 
in vain, so he passed on to the Dingwells’. 

When he entered the tidy room he found Dandy 
seated in a rocking-chair, looking somewhat fa- 
tigued, for his mother and sisters had kept him 
steadily talking, with only imperative interrup- 
tions for food and sleep. There was a sudden 
lifting of countenance when he saw Mike, and he 
remarked, plaintively : 


i66 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


“ I am so glad you have come, for my tongue 
is just tired out. Won’t you tell them about our 
good times for a spell while I am resting? ” 

“ I’d not mind talking if I’d had such a home- 
comiug as this,” Mike said, lugubriously. 

He looked at the gentle, pale-faced mother in 
tidy gown, the neat little girls who were working 
as industriously as their mother, the brightly 
papered room with not a speck of dirt visible, 
and the cooking-stove, whereon was simmering 
what promised to be a most delectable dinner. 
Surely, he thought, any boy in his circumstances 
was justified in envying Dandy his privileges. 
After he had made inquiries about his bundle, 
Mike took up the interrupted account of their 
jounieyings which in Mike’s rhetorical style of 
telling, seemed quite another story to the inter- 
ested listeners. 

The work lay idle in the little girls’ fingers, 
and, indeed, very often Mrs. Dingwell’s needle was 
held suspended, while she listened spellbound to 
Mike’s account of their marvelous escapes and 
surprising experiences. When he came at last to 
Anselmo’s unexpected bath and subsequent ill- 
ness, the tears flowed freely from the mother’s 
eyes, as she thought, what if it had been her own 
boy? The morning sped so quickly and Mike 
found himself so satisfied with his audience, that 
they were all surprised when they discovered it 


HOME AGAIN 


167 

was nearly dinner time. The Dingwells were 
seldom too poor to share their dinner with a 
friend, and to-day they were in a position to feel 
proud to extend an invitation since, in honor of 
Dandy’s home-coming, a most unusual dinner was 
in course of preparation. 

Mike could easily find space for a dinner, al- 
though he had planned to fast until evening in 
order to get some funds ahead. , What a happy 
feast it was ! A real home-made dinner, the 
like of which Mike had never tasted at home. 
They had a bit of shank so judiciously stewed it 
tasted better than an ill-cooked sirloin. Added to 
this they had onions and parsnips, cabbage and 
yellow turnips — a genuine Irish stew, with dump- 
lings light as a feather. Then there was a dessert 
of bananas and bread and milk — a very expen- 
sive feast for that household, but they did not 
have such reunions very often. 

Dandy now was so plump and strong and well- 
clad, he could go out in all weathers to sell his 
papers. Besides, he had grown to be quite a fa- 
vorite with many of the newsboys, his companions 
through the summer, so his business relations on 
the street would be far more satisfactory than 
heretofore. Altogether it was a red-letter day in 
the Dingwell family, one they would all remem- 
ber, no matter what changes for tlie better might 
take place in their circumstances. After this the 


1 68 THE MASTER OK DEEPLAWN 

mother’s heart did not grow heavy with dread 
every time the troublesome cough compelled her 
to lay aside her work, for if God should, before 
very long, take her to himself, her children would 
not be utterly friendless. They would, also, soon 
be capable of looking after themselves. 

It seemed like the happy days of the past, when 
she was a girl at home, “away down East.” Her 
father was a farmer, and all these descriptions of 
the country were as familiar to her as the faces of 
her children. After dinner they lingered around 
the table, and the boys talked about their future 
quite like grown men. They had become so 
enamored with country life that they had lost all 
relish for the crowded thoroughfares and the daily 
shouting the fresh editions of the world’s crimes 
and politics. 

They were planning how they would look for 
situations in the country whither, in due time, 
they would get their respective families removed 
from the grime and noise of the city. Mike as- 
sured them there were plenty of places strewn 
over the Union where not a drop of liquor was 
within walking distance. 

“Wouldn’t that be the place to take your 
folks?” Dandy said, eagerly. 

“ Yes, and I’ll get there yet,” Mike said, with a 
very determined air. “ Wouldn’t it be fine if we’d 
get places near each other?” 


HOME AGAIN 


169 


“ I dare say we might if we tried,” Dandy an- 
swered, evasively. He could not truthfully re- 
spond to Mike’s question in the affirmative, for 
Mike’s parents and brothers and sisters did not 
seem to him desirable neighbors, by any means. 


CHAPTER XIV 


AT DBKPLAWN 

T he hour came at last when the boys were to 
go to Deep! awn. They met at the station an 
hour earlier than the time appointed, so afraid 
were they that Alan might get away without them. 

He came some fifteen minutes before the time 
himself, as he had the tickets to buy for the twelve 
of them, and fruit and luncheon to secure as well, 
for he knew some of them, if not all, would have 
very good appetites before their arrival. They 
were a very bright-faced party of boys, although 
some of them had very irregular features, and 
would not be considered good-looking by the least 
critical observer ; but joy is certainly a beautifier, 
and they had that cosmetic in an unlimited de- 
gree. They ate their luncheon, cracked nuts and 
jokes together, and amnsed themselves so well, 
that they scarcely knew where the time had gone 
when they reached their station. Filing out on 
the platform they found carriages waiting to take 
them to Deeplawn, in as much style as if they had 
been university students instead of bootblacks 
and newsboys. There were cottages along the 
way for a mile and more, which Alan told them 
170 


AT DKEPIvAWN 171 

belonged to liis estate and were the homes of the 
farm hands and their families. 

“ My, but they’re foine places to be a livin’ in ! ” 
one of the lads said, admiringly ; a remark every 
other boy acquiesced in heartily. When they en- 
tered the avenue, bordered with oak and chestnut 
trees, they gazed about in amazement. The pil- 
lared gateway, and the long vistas through the 
trees, whence could be caught glimpses of smooth 
meadows, looked better even than the forest aisles 
in Newfoundland. As they drove along, gay 
flower-beds, arbors, and the ripple of water from 
the fountains, charmed them. 

“It’s curious, when God loves us all alike, he 
gives so much more to some than others,” Billy 
Spencer, a native-born American, said, discon- 
tentedly. 

“ I guess there’s a screw loose in our forbears. 
The Lord can’t pervide the hull of us first-class 
parents ; there ain’t enough to go round,” a meek 
lad, whose forbears had various screws loose, said, 
while he cast an admiring glance around, and 
then added : “We wouldn’t be ourselves if some- 
body else had been our father and mother.” 

“I’d not care a cent who my father was, if he’d 
only leave me a place like this,” Jacob Molensky 
said, with charming indifference to the relation- 
ship that had done little more for him than to pro- 
vide a body, mostly in a craving condition. 


172 the master of deeplawn 

“ I wish’t our folks’ d all been tbe same kind ’s 
Mr. Rivers’. Anyway I mean to give my boys 
and girls a better start nor I’ve had,” another 
strong-faced boy said, with decision. 

“ It’s looking a long way ahead, don’t you think, 
to make plans for your children?” Dandy timidly 
inquired. 

“ I’ll begin early so’s to be ready for ’em.” 

When the boys reached the house and saw the 
stately proportions of their temporary home, they 
were considerably abashed. 

“ Why, it’s handsomer than them swell houses 
on the Bast Side. Jest see them great posts with 
ridges on ’em; what lots of kindlin’s they’d make ! ” 
Mike could admire and appreciate the value of the 
fluted columns, but could not elegantly express 
his views. 

They went lingeringly up the steps, visions of 
a cool reception from the women of the house- 
hold flitting before them. 

“ I wonder ’ll the missus be willin’ for us crowd 
of gaffers to come among all this finery?” Mike 
whispered, while he reflected on his own mother’s 
possible wrath at such an intrusion. 

“ Say, Mr. Rivers, ’ll your wife, or whatever 
woman looks after things here, be willin’ for us 
fellers to come onto these good carpets ? ” Billy 
Spencer asked, anxiously. 

“ I have no one to find fault with me, except the 


AT DEEPI^AWN 


173 


very good woman whom I hire to superintend my 
house ; but I shall expect you lads to behave like 
young gentlemen. You can romp and have all 
the fun you like out of doors, and I have had the 
gymnasium refitted for you in case of rain. You 
can read any of the books in the library, look at 
the pictures, and have just the same privileges 
that grown-up guests would have ; but I shall ex- 
pect you to behave with the same propriety in the 
house as they would.” 

Mike now acted as spokesman. 

“ We’ll do everything we can to plase ye, sor ; 
but now and then we may forgit — our manners 
have never been polished — so you’ll plase to re- 
member if we misbehaves, it’ll be for want of 
knowin’ better, won’t it, b’ys?” He appealed to 
the others, who were standing looking already very 
much like culprits. 

“ Yes, it will,” came with heartiness from them 
all. 

‘‘ Now this is satisfactorily settled, I will show 
you where you are to sleep. It is the custom, gen- 
erally, after a day’s traveling to wash and brush 
one’s self a little. My housekeeper suggested fitting 
up what used to be the schoolroom for this. You 
can splash there to your heart’s content.” 

“ We’d jest as soon wash ourselves outdoors in 
some clean puddle, if it w’d save the woman 
trouble,” Mike said, deferentially. 


174 the master oe deepeawn 

He felt a growing desire to get out in the open 
air, and thus escape the conventionalities and in- 
tricacies of modern civilization ; but Alan took no 
notice of his modest offer as he led the way up a 
broad flight of stairs, over carpets that muffled 
every footfall. He halted at another staircase at 
the back of the passage and pointing to it, said : 

“ Mrs. Dixon, the housekeeper, would like you 
to use this stairway. She has lifted the carpet so 
that if your shoes should be muddy, the stains can 
easily be washed out.” 

“ We’ll be sure to remember,” Mike promised 
again for them all. 

Alan opened a door near by that led into a large 
room, fitted up with beds and dressing tables. 

“ Some of you will occupy this room,” he said, 
“ and the others will take the room beyond. They 
are fitted up alike and you can make your own 
selection of beds. When you get older. I’m sure 
Mrs. Dixon will have no objection to offering the 
best guest chambers in the house to you, but just 
now she is inexorable.” 

The boys stood in groups, surveying the suite 
of rooms appropriated to their use — the white beds, 
with the strips of carpet, the pictures, and soft, 
white draperies at the windows, looped back with 
pink ribbons. 

“Why, it’s better ’n a hospital ! ” was the first 
awestruck ejaculation. 


AT DEKPTAWN 


175 


Hospitals, hitherto, had been their ideal of com- 
fort in the matter of beds, but their admiration for 
these had not been immixed with terror, because 
of the pain they had experienced in those places 
themselves, or witnessed in their friends. 

“ I should say it was,” Mike said, with a long- 
drawn sigh of delight. To stretch out on one of 
those luxurious beds, and then to waken in the 
morning with leisure to lie, and through those 
drawn curtains look over the fresh country, would 
be a new and altogether beautiful experience. 

“ I am glad you are satisfied with your quar- 
ters,” Alan said, quite relieved, “and now I will 
show you our grounds where you can go and 
come at pleasure.” He pointed through the win- 
dow to the kitchen-garden, just now a profusion 
of all sorts of vegetables, and beyond that to the 
orchard, with the meadows and uplands, where 
herds of cattle and horses were grazing. 

“And can we go just where we likes, over all 
those places ? ” Mike asked. 

“Yes, only you must be careful not to injure 
anything. On this side you will see the flower 
gardens. Deeplawn has been noted for its flowers 
for a good many years. The gardener will give 
you permission to go through that at any time, I 
am sure.” 

The boys thought the fruit orchard would be 
the favorite pleasure ground. Alan left them then. 


176 THK MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

after he had told them when they were to come 
down to dinner. They washed and scoured face 
and hands with the small white brushes profusely 
supplied, not knowing exactly for what purpose 
they were provided, but anxious not only to 
present a clean front at the dinner table, but also 
to show their appreciation of the useful articles 
furnished. 

Mike was diligently scouring his neck when 
Dandy came from the window, where he had been 
lingering by himself for the double purpose of 
giving the older boys the first chance at the 
basins, and of looking at the beautiful view. 

“ Blest if we know what these little things is 
for ; is it to clane out the wrinkles do ye think ? ’’ 
Mike suspended his scrubbing and held the brush 
aloft for Dandy’s inspection, his face and neck a 
brilliant hue from its vigorous application. 

“Why, they are to clean the teeth with.” 

“ Oh ! ” Mike’s ejaculation expressed relief not 
unmixed with contempt. 

“ If they’ll give us plenty to ate we’ll clane our 
teeth without these bristles. What fandangles 
the quality do be havin’ ! No wonder they mostly 
has a tired look rememberin’ av all their etceterys,” 
but Mike proceeded forthwith to scour a set of 
milk-white teeth that nature hitherto had at- 
tended with better than a dentist’s care. 

“ It’s a decline I’ll be after failin’ into if I keep 


AT DKEPIvAWN 177 

on spittin blood like that,” he said, laying the 
brush aside. 

“ You must not rub so hard,” Dandy suggested. 

“ Umph ! I guess that rubbin’ ’ll do titl I’m an 
old man.” 

Their toilets were completed long before the 
dinner bell rang, but the time did not hang 
heavily on their hands, for there were the pictures 
that hung on their wall to be examined and those 
other pictures framed by the windows, orchards 
laden with fruit, huge trees with splendid oppor- 
tunities for climbing and with no gruff policemen 
standing guard. 

“Boys, I wish this week ’ud last till we was 
men growed. Won’t it be hard to go back to them 
courts and alleys ? ” Mike said, solemnly. 

The bell rang and no one waited to reply. They 
went trooping downstairs rather uncertainly, but 
to their relief found a maid waiting for them. 
She led the way into a large dining room, where 
a table was laid with an elegance that added con- 
siderably to their embarrassment. Alan was 
seated at one end, an elderly lady in a black silk 
gown and lace cap at the other. 

“ Mrs. Dixon, these are our young friends. You 
will learn their names by degrees, but I will in- 
troduce the two lads who sit nearest you,” and he 
forthwith presented Dandy and Jacob Molensky. 

Mrs. Dixon bowed politely, but at the same 

M 


iy8 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

time glanced anxiously down each side of the 
long table. 

She had been mistress in that house since Alan 
was a baby, and felt an owner’s pride in the hand- 
some appointments of the dinner table. These 
boys would be sure to spill tea and gravies on the 
damask cloth, while the dainty glass and china 
would not be safe in their unaccustomed fingers ; 
but Alan said they must come to the table with 
him, and she was too loyal to let him sit down to 
anything inferior. She was not prepared for the 
reverent attitude of each individual among them 
while grace was said. Her own eyes were the 
only pair unclosed, which was somewhat reas- 
suring. Although the dinner disappeared with 
uncommon celerity there was no upsetting or 
smashing of dishes. If she could have realized 
what a revelation that dinner was to those boys, 
what a civilizing effect it had on their uncultured 
natures, she would have examined the no longer 
spotless table napery with more equanimity. 

They restrained their feelings until they were 
well out of sight of the house ; then there was a 
sudden effervescence of spirits. Alan smiled as 
he stood on the doorstep, while the mingled 
whoops and shrieks of joyous merriment came 
floating on the perfumed air. He thought how he 
would have enjoyed this merry crowd a few years 
ago, then said to himself : 


AT DEEPLAWN 


179 


“ I enjoy it more now than I would have done 
then. I understand better what it means for 
them.” 

The boys had been let loose in the orchard with 
the single request not to break the limbs. What 
a glimpse it was of the abundance our world has 
of good things for man, those loaded limbs of 
apple, peach, pear, and plum trees! They had 
eaten all they wanted at dinner, but digestion 
was rapid with them, and those fruit trees were 
enough to tempt the most delicate appetite. 
There was probably a bushel less fruit growing 
on the trees when the twelve boys walked leisurely 
toward the house in the late afternoon. Alan 
dispatched them early to bed. He wanted them 
to have the very best of everything during that 
brief week, and the morning hours he considered 
the best time for them to examine into nature’s 
wonderful provisions for man’s needs. 

They needed no bells to waken them. The 
more alert among their number were up and away 
at sunrise exploring the hills and pasture lands, 
where colts of every size were disporting, with 
staid brood mares and high-stepping horses. What 
possible use could be made of two-score horses was 
more than Mike could understand. He was afraid 
there was unnecessary waste in the matter, and he 
resolved to give some judicious advice. After 
breakfast he introduced the subject to Alan. 


F 


l8o THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

“ It seems to me, sor, yeVe a lot more horses 
than are a profit to ye.” He always fell into his 
richest brogue when excited. 

“ Why, Mike, our horses are the best investment 
we have. Some of those colts clear me a thou- 
sand dollars. I hope you boys will be careful not 
to interfere with them, not even to lay a hand on 
them. They are easily blemished, and a blemish 
on some of them would cost me as much as 
my summer’s trip, with your expenses into the 
bargain.” 

“Ye don’t say so!” Mike was amazed. 
“ Why, I was plannin’ to have a ride on the back 
av wan av them little fellers ; they looked mighty 
enticin’.” 

Mrs. Dixon, who was present, could hold her 
peace no longer : 

“ If you ever do such a thing, we shall send 
you home that very day.” 

Alan smiled at her fears. 

“ You need not be anxious, these boys can be 
trusted, every one of them.” 

She did not fail to notice the glad look that 
came into every face, and felt assured that not a 
boy among them would molest the poorest-look- 
' ing nag in the pasture. After breakfast Alan 
took them to another pasture, where there were 
several large-limbed horses quietly feeding. At 
the sound of his voice they came crowding to the 


t 


AT DEEPTAWN l8l 

gate, when he took a lump of sugar from his 
pocket for each, then catching two of them, he 
let Mike mount one and Dandy the other. Mike 
glanced down on the other boys triumphantly. 
Dandy, with a countenance that plainly expressed 
his willingness to change positions with any boy 
who wished. The horse walked so soberly down 
the lane he gradually lost his fears, and when he 
came safely through the meadow gate he began 
to feel as if he and the horse were fairly well 
adapted to each other. 

Alan showed the boys how to harness and put the 
horses into a farm wagon. Then they all climbed 
into the wagon, and he let them take turns driv- 
ing on the way to a distant field, where the har- 
vesters were at work gathering in some late grain. 
An exciting time they had, building the loads, 
driving the horses to the huge stacks and unload- 
ing. They were surprised when the dinner- 
horns sounded from the farmhouses down in the 
lower fields. Alan promised to let them come 
again after dinner. He was in his shirt sleeves, 
working as diligently as any man there. 

“ Do you like to work? ’’ Dandy asked, as they 
rode home together. 

“ Yes, sometimes I think it would be the hap- 
piest lot to work a snug little farm, and to have 
nothing else, only a happy home where some one 
would always be glad to see me come in.” 


i 82 the master of deeplawn 

• 

“ I should think you might easily have that,” 
Dandy suggested. 

“ God gives other duties and a wider sphere to 
some of us. In whatever state we are we should 
be content, and I try to be.” 

I don’t know of any one in all the world who 
has as much as you, but maybe the Dord made 
us so we never could be quite contented.” 

‘‘Who told you that. Dandy?” 

“I don’t know if any one did. You see one 
thinks things themselves, sometimes.” 

“The subject of divine discontent is rather a 
deep one for a lad like you.” 

“ I never remember thinking anything like 
that, sir,” Dandy said, humbly. He did not wish 
to get credit for brighter thoughts than he could 
honestly claim. 

On their way home Alan suggested to the boys 
that there might be other amusements they would 
enjoy more than working in the harvest field, but 
they assured him nothing could be better. The 
harvesters enjoyed the fun, and also enjoyed hav- 
ing the young master working like one of them- 
selves. The moon was climbing above the hori- 
zon when they left the harvest field. As they 
curled up, tired but very happy, on a bundle of 
straw in the creaking wain, they fell to planning 
how they would become farmers at once. For a 
few months they would hire out until they could 


AT DEKPLAWN 


183 

get a bit of land upon which to build some sort of 
habitation, where they would settle their parents. 

As Alan listened to their low-spoken confidences 
on that evening ride, with the moon casting long 
shadows across their path, he began to make plans 
in their behalf of which they were little con- 
scious. He determined that what had been one 
summer’s pastime should continue through future 
years .as a serious, earnest effort. He would still 
continue the course of study mapped out and then 
enter some pursuit to which he might be called, 
but this work should always have a share in his 
time. He had penetrated quite far into his future 
by the time the boys clambered down at the barn- 
yard gate and watched the unharnessing of the 
horses. 

The next day Mr. Dolliver arrived. At dinner 
he beamed benevolently on the double row of 
youthful faces. Mike was particularly pleased 
with the old man, while the natural reverence he 
felt for the clergy, with the cavalier manner in 
which his friendly overtures had been received 
hitherto, made him all the more open to the 
kindly ways of the venerable minister. Mike 
had, in a day or two, become such an expert 
driver that Alan let him take the minister for his 
drives, and these Mike found very interesting. 
He was surprised at the extent of Mr. Dolliver’s 
knowledge of the people for miles around, and 


184 the master of deeplawn 

such interesting stories as he could tell about what 
had happened there during the last forty years — 
the joys and the tragedies ; for there were the lat- 
ter, as must always be the case wherever there are 
human beings. Mike was particularly impressed 
with Mr. Dolliver’s prayers. He used to pray so 
earnestly that they might grow up to be good 
men and be kept from the evil influences that sur- 
rounded them, that at many a prayer time Mike’s 
eyes would fill with tears and he would have hard 
work to conceal them. 

Mrs. Dixon encouraged them to go picnick- 
ing nearly every day, and she and the maids com- 
pounded good things for the occasion with great 
cheerfulness. It was a relief to get the boys as 
far away as possible. After the long stillness to 
which she had grown accustomed, the sudden in- 
vasion of a dozen boys was very trying to her 
•nerves. Mike proving the best driver, he was al- 
ways entrusted with one of the wagon loads of 
boys, while Alan led the way with the rest. 

One day their drive was to be extended beyond 
the usual length, and both dinner and supper had 
to be provided, since they would reach home only 
at bedtime. They started in the early morning. 
The objective point of the expedition was a lake 
in the woods where there were some fine trout. 
The fishing privilege belonged to Alan, but the 
land adjacent was owned by others. 


AT DEEPLAWN 


185 


Mrs. Dixon and the maids had packed the ham- 
per of provisions the preceding evening. When 
it was being placed in the wagons the boys con- 
cluded there would be enough to last several days, 
forgetting what appetites they always had in the 
woods. 

The sun was beginning to grow hot when they 
turned off into the welcome shade of the forest 
track, where the limbs sometimes brushed their 
faces, while far overhead stray bits of sunshine 
could be caught through the leafy spaces. They 
found the lake hidden in a perfect bower of green. 
Great hard-wood trees guarded its shores and hung 
reflected in its bosom. Everything was so quiet 
the boys for a while hushed their laughter and 
shouts, and stood with the sober propriety of gen- 
uine anglers, rod in hand, waiting for the fish to 
bite. 

The fishing, however, was not like that in New- 
foundland. The trout were wary and only at long 
intervals did one take the hook, but this was 
enough to keep the lads interested, and there was 
also a witchery in the surrounding scenery, which 
had been fashioned by nature in one of her gen- 
tlest moods. The catch for that day, though, con- 
sisted principally of the more youthful members 
of the trout family. 

For any who should come to make a prolonged 
stay at the lake, there was a log cabin and fire- 


i86 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


place. The boys examined the furnishings of the 
primitive abode, which went by the name of Camp 
Content, with an eagerness that made Alan think 
they were truly in earnest about migrating to the 
country. 

“Isn’t it jolly here?” Mike said, as he finished 
his survey and came to the fireplace where Alan 
was superintending the preparation for dinner. 
“ Could a body come here and settle on the land 
without paying for it?” he asked, anxiously. 

“ They might be turned off by the owners.” 

Alan’s reply was absently given ; the trout were 
simmering in the pan, and he was not an expert 
cook. Indeed, it required his undivided attention 
to look after the frying-pan alone. He had many 
a time visited his laborers’ cottages, and knew 
much more than average young men of his class 
respecting the manner of living among working 
people ; and to-day as he was wrestling with the 
problem of trout cooking, he was reflecting with 
considerable admiration on the deft way house- 
wives can superintend the preparation of half a 
dozen different dishes, and perhaps at the same 
time hush a crying baby. Mike waited until the 
trout were turned and then renewed the conver- 
sation. 

“ Would the owners mind if a body settled down 
here and built a house like this ? Sure the place 
he’s jest runnin’ to waste.” 


AT DEEPTAWN 


187 

“ I^and owners, as a rule, are not in favor of 
having people settle on their land ; it is often diffi- 
cult to dislodge them.” 

“ If I’d pay rent they’d not want to get me off?” 

“ How could you earn money for that, and to 
feed and clothe yourself besides ? ” 

“Wouldn’t the farmers hire me? Wouldn’t 
they be willin’ to help a feller get away from our 
court to where he’d be able to live clane and 
dacent ? ” 

“ I think you will find, somewhere, a green 
spot in which you may grow up to honest man- 
hood. Maybe that is part of my calling, to help 
such as you to be tillers of the soil.” 

Mike’s face flushed. 

“ I’m not mailin’, sor, for you to do it for me. If 
you’d hire me to work for you like them other 
b’ys and men you have, I’d be obliged to ye. 
Maybe ye’d speak to some other farmer for me.” 

“ The trout are done now, and we will have our 
dinner before we settle so important a matter as 
your future.” 

Mike was very well content with his partial 
answer. He was a good judge of character and 
quite observing, and in his past intercourse with 
Alan he had found fulfillment always far exceeded 
his promises. When they rose from dinner he 
lured the boys to the other side of the lake, where 
they indulged in a luxurious bath, and then began 


i88 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


Speculating on house building. Even Jacob Mo- 
lensky reckoned it would be more like living to be 
on a bit of land in the country with cows and hens 
to work for him, than to be selling newspapers and 
starving part of the time in the city. 


CHAPTER XV 


FARM LABORERS 

M IKE’S question led Alan to think very se- 
riously if it might not be possible to get 
work for the boys who preferred country life, and 
for their parents as well. He was not, as yet, a 
political economist, but the overcrowded state of 
cities generally and the consequent degradation of 
the poorer classes had caused him a good many 
perplexed thoughts. But there the matter might 
have rested with only a few summer holidays for 
some of the lads, as results. 

If he could convey a dozen or so families from 
those congested districts to the country and get 
them interested in farm life, it would be some- 
thing accomplished in the great work of restoring 
the equilibrium between rural and town life ; but 
more than that, it would revolutionize the lives of 
those concerned more beneficially than acts of 
State or entire lecture courses on the subject. 
Every summer it was necessary to import farm 
laborers from a distance. In some cases these men 
were both vicious and incompetent, and wrought 
more evil among their work-fellows than Mr. 
Dolliver could overcome in a year. If they could 

189 


IQO THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

get pennaiient settlers, with a bit of land of their 
own to till, to help at such busy seasons, it would 
be a mutual gain. 

He conferred with neighboring landowners on 
the subject, but, as a rule, they did not encourage 
such immigration from the cities. They assured 
him the risk was heavy. They might fall sick 
on their hands, or turn out idle and vicious, per- 
haps rob gardens and hen-roosts and commit 
other depredations that would ultimately lessen 
the value of land in their vicinity. A few, how- 
ever, gave a hesitating consent to employ these 
new importations if Alan chose to incur the ex- 
pense of settling them near by on his own property. 

The season then was far advanced, but there 
were always jobs to be done, and as the farmers in 
the valley were a thrifty class of men, there was 
little idle time with them the year round. Alan re- 
solved to settle his immigrants as far apart as pos- 
sible, thinking it would be a mutual benefit to 
them to see as little of each other as might be, 
while their chances for work would be all the 
better. He decided to secure first the names of 
those willing to come to the country, and after- 
ward to see about getting them settled — a very 
wise plan, as he later on discovered. 

The last day of their visit at Deeplawn had 
come, and a very blue day it was to every one of 
the boys. Jacob Molensky was a worse socialist 


FARM LABORERS 


191 

than ever, and could hardly forgive Alan for 
having so much more than his share of worldly 
goods. 

Mike remembered with painful distinctness his 
home-coming of a fortnight ago, but he was a 
strong-fibered lad and kept up a cheerful counte- 
nance till the last. Mrs. Dixon and the maids, 
however, watched the procession departing with 
great satisfaction, having first ascertained that the 
boys had not abstracted spoons or other valuables, 
as might reasonably have been expected. 

Alan went with them. In order to get the 
families settled in the country, it would be neces- 
sary for him to lose a week or two at the begin- 
ning of the term, but a little extra study would 
soon bring him up with the rest. 

On the way he explained his intentions fully to 
the boys and what would be expected from them 
in return. Their parents and brothers and sisters, 
old enough to work, could all get employment of 
some kind, and if the pay was not very high, 
neither would their expenses be heavy. Each 
family would have a separate cottage with a gar- 
den, where they might raise all the vegetables for 
their own use' another year. The boys were jubi- 
lant, and already held themselves with all the dig- 
nity of prospective landowners. 

Mike, on the whole, was gifted with the best 
business ability, so he was deputed to canvass 


192 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

among the families and see how many would be 
willing to emigrate at once. He had a very busy 
day, beginning at his own household, and a very 
discouraging one, for not a single family would 
listen to his proposals but the widow Dingwell. 
He presented himself before Alan the following 
evening looking the picture of despair, for he had 
the mercurial temperament of the genuine Celt. 

“ Not a mother’s son av ’em ’ll come but that 
poor widdy Dingwell. She’s fair foolish at get- 
ting out there, she’s that glad.” 

“ Your parents, then, won’t come? ” 

“ They say not a fut av them ’ll go out among 
the stumps,” and Mike became deeply absorbed 
in the view from the window. 

“ You can come without them. Some day, 
after you have earned a good home, you may be 
able to entice them to come also.” 

“ I mean to go, if you’ll have me ; but it’s the 
little chaps I’m worritin’ about. They’ll grow 
up afore I get a house aimed, and be spilt intirely 
by that time.” Mike cleared his throat, but it 
sounded more like a sob. “ It’s no use, I can’t 
be stayin’ here after the sup I’ve had av clane air 
and vittels, and I tould me father so.” 

“ What did your father say ? ” 

“He just swore, that was all; but I’m goin’ all 
the same.” Mike spoke with quiet determination, 
but Alan looked perplexed. 


FARM LABORERS 


193 

“ I cannot take you without your father’s con- 
sent. ’ ’ 

“ Every boy av the crowd is goin’, and you’d 
surely not make me stay behind?” The tears 
stood now unconcealed in Mike’s eyes. 

“I will have a talk with your father myself.” 

“Will you please, sor, to come airly, afore he 
goes to the saloon ? You have no idee what sort 
of folks the Eord’s pervided me with. I’ll just 
tell them the night you’re cornin’, and maybe 
they’ll keep straight.” Mike’s cheeks shone like 
peonies when he spoke of the parents whom Alan 
assured him it was his duty to obey. 

The following morning the visit was made. 
As Alan walked along looking for the court where 
Mike lived, he saw the lad waiting for him. 

“ They’re both sober the morn’, and me mother’s 
fixed up considerable for you,” he said, with 
much satisfaction. “ It’s jest in this way and up 
that flight of stairs ; they look weak like, but 
they’re stronger nor ye’d think.” Mike went 
nimbly up, followed more circumspectly by his 
friend, for the prospect was not reassuring. 

“Ye might jist tuck your watch and chain in 
your trouser pocket. Sometimes folks gets robbed 
round here.” Mike spoke in a whisper as he 
paused at the door. 

Alan did as he was advised and then pushed 
boldly in after his guide. Such squalor, such 
N 


194 'I'HE master of deepeawn 

horrible sights and odors as greeted him, he could 
never forget. Mike’s parents were evidently wait- 
ing for their visitor, while Alan was equally anx- 
ious’ to proceed to business. He plunged at once 
into the subject without any circumlocution. 

“Will you let Mike come to the country to 
work with the farmers?” 

“ Oi jist wull, if yez’ll pay for his worruk ; 
but no b’y ov moine ’ill slave for rich folks for 
nuthin’,” said the father. 

“ His wages for some time will amount to very 
little, but he will have good food and abundance 
of it, with warm clothing.” 

“ Do ye mane to say a great b’y like him ’ll only 
get vittels and clothes ? ” he asked, fiercely. 

“ He must make the best bargain he can with 
the farmers, but can’t expect to earn much above 
his own needs at first.” Alan spoke firmly, looking 
the man sternly in the face. Mike interposed : 

“ Ye’d better let me go with the gentleman, for 
if ye don’t, ye’ll be sorry, that’s all I’ve got to 
say.” 

“ Oi’ll tache ye to talk perliter nor that to yer 
father,” he cried, aiming a blow at his first-born, 
but striking the door instead, which enraged him 
more than ever. 

“I’ll fetch the perlice,” Mike whispered. “I 
think ye’d better run, though ; they’re wickeder 
than ye’d think.” 


FARM LABORERS 


195 


Alan had no thought of running That blear- 
eyed pair, with unsteady nerves, would be no match 
for him ; so he held his ground, resolved in any 
case to get Mike out of such a den. 

McQuinn turned fiercely to Alan and hissed : 

“ Git out of this, ye thafe, cornin’ betwixt a 
parent and his child. Oi’ll be the death of ye, if 
ye don’t.” 

“You won’t hurt me,” Alan said, calmly. “I 
came here to help your son, not to quarrel with 
you. Sit down and talk reasonably about the 
terms you demand.” 

McQuinn responded with an attempt to strike 
the alert young fellow, who was watching him 
keenly, his back set against the door, but the 
hand was seized, and he was held at arm’s length, 
apparently with the same ease a mother would 
exercise with a refractory child. 

“ By the powers, but ye’ve a foine grip av the 
fist, so ye have,” McQuinn said, admiringly, while 
he vainly endeavored to extricate himself from 
Alan’s grasp. He found a trial of strength was 
going to fail him and he was going to change his 
tactics. If Mike would only keep out of the way 
there was no knowing what good luck might be- 
fall him if this rich young fellow was provided 
with a watch and pocket-book. 

“ If ye’ll plase to let go me hand, and set down 
here with me, friendly-like, we’ll talk it over pace- 


196 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

able.” He spoke in a wheedling tone, but Alan 
liked his manner less than when he was in a rage. 

Mrs. McQuinn was edging up with the intention 
of releasing her spouse. Alan kept his eye stead- 
ily on her, but still held her struggling husband. 

“ Ye’d not be after striking a woman, would ye? ” 
McQuinn asked, uneasily. 

‘ ‘ Certainly not ; but I may find it necessary to 
hold her hands to prevent her striking me,” was 
the quiet reply. 

Mrs. McQuinn changed her mind, and settled 
back into a corner ; but Alan saw her reaching slyly 
for a poker near by as he renewed the argument 
with McQuinn. 

“Will you consent now for Mike to come 
with me?” 

“ Would ye be expectin’ a fayther to part with 
his b’y jist when he was a help, lettin’ a stranger 
have all the profit of his upraisin’ ?” 

“ Mike’s upraising has not cost you much, but 
still he is your son ” 

Mrs. McQuinn had again assumed a warlike at- 
titude and was already coming toward him. He 
saw the poker hid in the fold of her dress, and was 
beginning to wonder what he was to do with her — 
if it would be safe to strike McQuinn hard enough 
to disable him, and yet not seriously injure him, 
while he dealt with her. Nothing short of force, 
he now saw, would extricate him from the diffi- 


FARM I^ABORKRS 


197 


culty, and in case others in the house should hear 
what was going on and come to share in the melee, 
it might end more seriously than he cared to 
think. 

“ Mrs. McQuinn, if you come one step nearer I 
shall be obliged to disable your husband while I 
deal with you.” 

She paused, looking uncertainly at the man who 
wa^ holding her husband with such apparent ease, 
but it was only for an instant and with poker up- 
lifted she was almost ready to strike, when Alan, 
giving McQuinn a push, seized the poker and 
threatening them with it, held both at bay. They 
began to scream. Then there was a scuffling of 
feet outside, and Alan felt the door behind him 
violently pushed. He stepped aside, scarcely know- 
ing which was the better part of valor, to stand 
his ground or beat a hasty retreat poker in hand. 
Several unkempt creatures came rushing in, ready 
to join with the McQuinns and share in the plun- 
der, but a sudden hush fell upon them, for other 
steps were heard, and the blue coats and brass 
buttons of two stalwart policemen stood in the 
door, with Mike, Jacob Molensky, and Billy Spen- 
cer in the rear. 

“What’s the rumpus here?” one of the police- 
men asked. 

“There ain’t no rumpus. Only this man wants 
to rob us av our darlin’ child.” 


198 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

“ I believe it was ‘ your darlin’ child’ that sent 
us here in hot haste to take care of him.” 

“The young rascal,” McQuinii muttered, end- 
ing with a dreadful imprecation. 

“ I advise you to come away with us, they are a 
hard crowd here,” the policeman said, turning to 
Alan. 

‘ ‘ I am anxious first to make some arrangement 
with them about their son ; he is worth saving.” 

“It’s not after his parents he takes then,” the 
policeman said, with a glance of contempt at the 
miserable pair, who stood regarding them wrath- 
fully. 

Mike suddenly came forward. 

“ You may as well make as good a bargain as you 
can with Mr. Rivers, daddy, for I’m bound to leave 
here.” 

“ Ye ungrateful villain! ” The father’s expres- 
sion was something fearful as he glared at his off- 
spring. 

“Ye’d better not be after making any rash 
promises, Mr. Rivers. I’ll slip away quiet like, 
and be turnin’ up at the farm some foine mornin’, 
when we can plan things by ourselves,” whis- 
pered Mike into Alan’s ear. 

“ He is your father, Mike. If we could get his 
consent for you to go, we might, in time, res- 
cue him too.” 

“ It’s a gone case, sor,” Mike said, hopelessly. 


FARM LABORERS I99 

Alan went a few steps nearer to McQuinn and 
said : 

“Your son is determined to leave. Would it 
not be better for you to still keep a hold on him 
by giving your consent ? I am sure he will share 
whatever wages he may earn with you, if you part 
with him kindly.” 

“ What’ll ye give me for him ? ” McQuinn again 
demanded, seeking something more definite than 
mere promises. 

“ I have told you what we will do. Mike him- 
self will repeat the promise.” 

“ Yes, I’ll give ye everything I can,” Mike said, 
eagerly. 

“ If we get you a cottage with a bit of garden 
and the promise of plenty of work, won’t you 
come with the rest of your family next summer?” 

“ Oi’ll see about it. Get off with ye now,” he said, 
sullenly, bestowing such a look of concentrated 
rage on his son that the latter quickly went from 
the room, without receiving any response to his 
hastily spoken farewell. 


CHAPTER XVI 


FROM THE DEPTHS 

M ike, with a very exultant expression of 
countenance, accompanied the rather large 
party of civilians and police down the creaking 
stairs. The policemen walked in the rear of the 
procession with an occasional backward glance to 
see that no missile was likely to be launched after 
them. 

Mike’s exuberance of spirits was really in- 
fectious. The other boys who had joined them 
shared in his pleasure ; for were they not also to 
emigrate, soon or late, to the land of plenty? 
When they had emerged on the street, the rest 
scattering and Mike and Alan found themselves 
alone in the anxious-faced throng that ceaselessly 
passes to and fro in that quarter, he said, gleefully: 

“Isn’t it jist foine I’ve got clear with whole 
bones ! I know them perlicemen, and if me fay- 
ther makes trouble bime-by, why we’ve only got 
to summons them as witnesses.” 

Alan thought there was small prospect of their 
help being required. Persons who have fallen as 
low as the McQuinns, are as a rule very content to 
leave the law alone if it does not interfere with 


200 


FROM THE depths 


201 


them. Mike began to walk less briskly, and at 
last he asked rather plaintively : 

“ Will I go right to Deeplawn, or can I have a 
bite to eat first? I’ve seen very little vittels, only 
what I fished out of the market barrels, since I’ve 
come to town.” 

“You shall have your dinner at once,” and 
Alan led the way into a dining room they were 
nearing. Mike opened wide his eyes with amaze- 
ment. He certainly did not expect anything so 
good as this, to be sitting at one of those tables 
toward which he had scores of times cast longing 
eyes while selling papers ; and to be waited on by 
those gentlemen with white aprons, who had 
occasionally put into the hands of hungry news- 
boys the contents of discarded dinner plates, this 
was more than he expected for some years to 
come. The very strangeness and surprising honor 
of the occasion threatened to dull his appetite, but 
when he tasted the excellent chicken soup he 
realized how terribly keen his hunger was, and 
felt a great wave of sympathy for a fellow-news- 
boy with whom he was on friendly terms, who 
was watching him from outside. 

“ Does a dinner like this cost much ? ” he asked 
in a whisper, of Alan, who was busy over his own 
soup. 

“Not very much,” was the amused answer. 

“ When I get rich I’m cornin’ here every day, 


202 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


and I’ll give poor fellers like him over there, all 
the soup they can swaller. I guess Blinders could 
eat half a gallon ; he looks awful holler.” 

Alan looked at the individual indicated by 
Mike’s finger. 

“Why is he called Blinders?” 

“ Don’t you see how his ears sets out from his 
head like the blinders av a horse ? I guv him that 
name my own self, so I did.” Mike spoke 
proudly, as if it were something very clever. 

“You would like him to have some dinner to- 
day, I presume.” 

“Av course; he’d like it hisself, but he’d not 
ask to be sot down like this, and maybe in them 
clothes the waiters would object too ; but he 
could have a sup of soup out beyant there where 
you hear them dishes a rattlin’.” 

“ How much money do you want ? ” Alan asked, 
looking down kindly into the eager, upturned 
face. 

“ A quarter ’ll buy all the bread and soup he 
can eat. I know a waiter who has a ter’ble soft 
heart — us fellers all knows him. I guess he’s goin’ 
to be a preacher some day ; Dandy said so, and he 
knows lots about that sort of folks.” 

Alan laid down the quarter and Mike, by some 
mysterious gesture, acquainted Blinders with the 
fact that he too was to be treated, for he immedi- 
ately stood at the door looking in with eager face. 


FROM THE depths 


203 


Mike went at once to interview liis favorite 
waiter, and a moment later, Blinders disappeared 
behind a screen, and Mike returned to his inter- 
rupted dinner with evident self-approval. 

“ He says he’ll pay yer the first thing when he 
gits on his feet.” 

Alan did not interrupt Mike to inquire what 
that obscure phrase meant. The dinner ended, 
Mike was entrusted with the money to buy his 
ticket, and Alan proceeded on his way alone. He 
was passing through one of those mental crises 
every worker among the lapsed classes is sadly 
familiar with. Try as he might, what could he 
accomplish by way of reducing this gigantic mass 
of human misery ? The broad avenues and stately 
buildings near could give no solution to the 
question. 

He sank into a seat in one of the squares, and 
surrounded by its beauty there came before him 
a vision of the thousands of human blossoms in the 
courts and alleys of the city. Unwashed, hungry 
babies for whom no one cared, boys and girls 
facing toward ruin and for the most part only a 
few weak women’s hands stretched out to stay 
their progress thither — women who forsook their 
pleasant homes and congenial pursuits and for 
Christ’s sake went down to heal these festering 
wounds, as far as their feeble hands could do it. 
Was it true that corporations have souls only for 


204 the master of deeplawn 

inanimate tilings, caring nothing for humanity? 
These flowers about him were certainly very beau- 
tiful, and rested tired eyes no doubt ; but an 
untimely frost would soon reduce them to un- 
sightly stalks, and their beauty would then be 
only a fading memory. 

He got up, walked to the street, and hailed a 
car. One thing at a time must be done. The 
thing awaiting liiin just then was the honorable 
completion of his college course. Some day he 
might be able to infuse a more brotherly spirit 
into municipal organizations, which now did not 
seem to reckon the future men and women of the 
commonwealth at as high a value as tulip or 
hyacinth bulbs. 

A few weeks later there came an enthusiastic 
letter from ‘Mike, one of the most gratifying mes- 
sages the daily mail brought to Alan for many a 
day. Mike had reconnoitered among the farmers 
himself, the business capacity developed in the 
streets standing him in good stead in his ne- 
gotiations. He had no idea of being a mere 
hanger-on upon Alan’s bounty. To be trans- 
ported to Deeplawn and lodged and fed so royally 
while he was settling himself was all he asked, 
and for this he expressed a boundless gratitude in 
the blotted, misspelled epistle he sent to his bene- 
factor. 

He described his home with great minuteness. 


FROM THE DEPTHS 


205 


It was a large, old-fashioned farmhouse whose 
furnishings were little altered from the fashions of 
half a century before, some of the articles still in 
use dating back to old colonial times. 

The brass andirons in the prim parlor, with the 
stiff chairs and spindle-legged tables that had 
been mute witnesses of the triumphs of the Rev- 
olution, awakened in Mike an amazed admiration. 
In his paternal home the few household articles 
that served their daily needs had been changed 
since his recollection more times than he could 
count. How often had he watched their last stick 
of furniture on its way to the pawnshop, with 
nothing left behind but four mildewed walls and 
the children ! He used to think it a pity that 
children were of so little value that thirsty parents 
could not exchange them for a glass of whisky. 

Alan smiled as he read Mike’s incoherent de- 
scription of the farmhouse and its inmates. The 
family were all grown and most of them settled 
in homes of their own, but for those still re- 
maining the lad had formed a very high regard. 
They always had such abundance of good food, 
and were on such friendly terms with each other 
and all the world, he was kept in a state of per- 
petual wonderment. 

“ I’d never thought folks could get on so quiet 
like,” he wrote, ecstatically. “I’ve never heard 
an oath or ugly word from one of ’em ; most 


2o6 the master of deeplawn 

like it’s the prayers, for they do be havin’ them 
twice a day on their knees, and every time they 
sets down to eat, and they makes fresh pray- 
ers every mornin’ and night. They’ve tuck me 
to church, too, and it was as aisy as anythin’ to 
do like them. The preacher one Sunday made 
some av ’em cry. It was a revival they wor 
havin’, and he told them a lot about their sins 
and how good the Lord were to ’em. Blest if I 
didn’t cry m'eself, for I never heard tell about it 
rightly afore, and when the preacher asked any- 
body who wanted to forsake the devil and take 
the Lord for their Master to stand up, why I jist 
jumped right up, of course, and said, ‘Please, sir, 
it’s him I’m wantin’ to belong to.’ If my folks 
warn’t proud then you niver did see, and I declare 
if they don’t be callin’ of me brother Michael in 
the meetin’s now. They do be powerful glad 
here to get hold of the likes of me, and they’ve 
got me fast enough, I tell you.” 

When the letter was finished Alan folded it 
away with a feeling that the time of reaping had 
begun. It was the first real encouragement he 
had met in his rescue attempts, and although 
feeling that his life-work had not really begun, 
he was eager to be doing what he could each re- 
turning day. A little later he received a letter 
from the Dingwells. They were now settled in 
one of the small cottages at Deeplawn. Mrs. 


FROM THE DEPTHS 


207 


Dixon had taken them under her care, and the 
consequence was that matters for them were pro- 
gressing most satisfactorily. The children were 
working when occasion offered, and for the rest of 
the time were at school. Dandy was able to do 
light work for the farmers, while Mrs. Ding well 
and the little girls were very useful with the 
needle among the overworked farmers’ wives. 
The other lads had gravitated to the city again, 
but were all promising to become farmers later on. 

Alan had not yet discovered what his own 
work in life was to be ; in fact, it was becoming 
an increasing perplexity. To overlook the work- 
men at Deeplawn scarcely seemed a sufficient 
career. He could not be blind to the fact that his 
endowments of intellect were more than the aver- 
age. With an ease that was admired by fellow- 
students and professors alike, he took some of the 
first honors of his class. It appeared to him some- 
thing of a waste to take the intellectual equip- 
ment gained by the labor of a dozen years and 
more to superintend the cultivation of grain and 
vegetables ; but what was he to do? 

Already the towns and cities were overflowing 
with professional men struggling for a bare exist- 
ence. If he joined their ranks he would only 
be snatching from some one more needy either 
the brief or the patient that otherwise would fall 
to his share. He had no drawing to the mechani- 


2o8 the master of deepeawn 

cal sciences ; for book-making he feared he had 
even less aptitude, and of books there certainly 
did not seem to be a dearth ; neither did his 
country seem to be suffering from a lack of poli- 
ticians ; while the dream of his boyhood that 
one day it might be his work to found and oc- 
cupy a chair in biblical literature in the arts 
course of a university had grown dim amid the 
activities of a very busy life. No wonder then 
that he felt keenly the perplexity that confronts 
so many honest and ambitious young men. 
While he coveted the splendid opportunities of 
the eloquent preacher to help humanity in the 
multitudinous ways open to those who are thor- 
oughly consecrated and fearless, he had never per- 
mitted himself to dream of such possibilities for 
service coming to him. 

Just before commencement a letter came from 
Mr. Dolliver. He had come home to die, so he 
seemed to believe. All the lonely journeyings up 
and down the land were ended. There remained 
now only the quiet passage between the two 
worlds — whether long or short, he little cared, 
since the King of the country whither he was 
going had promised to make the journey with 
him, and it must therefore be both glad and 
honorable. What most interested the aged pil- 
grim now, was the work that he longed to see his 
young friend undertake. 


FROM THE DEPTHS 


209 


“ I was not eloquent or learned,’’ the letter 
said, “ but with God’s help I have tried to make 
his world better. You have the gifts and the 
training which God did not see fit to give to me ; 
and I am praying now, every day, nearly all the 
day, — for the nearer I get to seeing my I^ord the 
more natural is the act of prayer, — I am praying 
that you may be anointed for his work, the work 
of the Christian ministry. The good Lord knows 
I wanted to work faithfully for him. I did not 
give up work until my strength was so far spent 
I could only get here by being brought upon a 
bed ; but what I have done was so little, I doubt 
if I get much reward, only the smile of recogni- 
tion my Lord will give to every home-coming 
child. You can do a far different work. You 
have gifts of speech, winning words, and a fas- 
cination that is the gift of very few, and added to 
all these natural gifts, you have the learning that 
so well sharpens the tools God has given. I have 
received the assurance that you are going to be 
called to this work. I know this because my 
Lord sometimes trusts me with his secrets, and so 
every hour, as it passes, bears some prayer for you 
in your future work. I am glad to linger here 
away from any compan}^, that I may pray for you 
— prayers that you must work through many 
years to see answered. I have thought that you 
may not have many who would talk over your 


210 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


case with God, and that makes me the more 
busy.” 

Alan dropped the letter unfinished, for through 
it there had already come the divine call. Mr. 
Dolliver had written in the spirit of prophecy, or 
so it seemed to Alan, and through him had come 
the message direct from on high. He felt none of 
the unwillingness to respond that many speak of 
when called to the work of the ministry, rather a 
sense that the honor was more than he could 
bear, a feeling also of exceeding gladness that to 
him had been given the mission that came to 
prophet and apostle. 

Then also came the thought how wide might 
be the range of his usefulness. If, as his student 
friends asserted, he really had special gifts of ora- 
tory, how much he might help others in that way ; 
reaching wide masses of men who otherwise would 
not heed his words. After this he studied with 
new zeal, believing that no equipment of culture 
could be vast enough to do this work at its best. 

After a summer devoted to Mr. Dolliver, busi- 
ness affairs, and study, and another college year, 
he completed his course, a much wider one than 
was usually taken at Brown, and then, seek- 
ing for the most varied opportunities for extend- 
ing his mental horizon, he resolved to take two 
years at Oxford and finish at one of the great 
German universities. As far as he could master 


FROM THE DEPTHS 


2II 


those vexed problems that lead immature minds 
into unbelief, he resolved to do so, firmly believ- 
ing that no workman requires such preparation as 
the one who deals with questions pertaining to the 
soul of man and eternity. 


CHAPTER XVII 


CLIMBING 


EAN did not neglect the lads in whose behalf 



he had already taken such deep interest. 
The summer he graduated, he took them with him 
to the farm again, with the exception of Mike, 
who was getting along finely with his new friends, 
working through the day at the healthful tasks of 
the farm laborer, and busy with his books during 
the evening. Mike had his ambitions. 

“ I’d like to be doing some other work than will 
end with the day,” he said to Alan, when he came 
to make a short visit at Deeplawn. 

“No work that you do on the farm can well 
end with the day,” Alan said. “ If you are sow- 
ing seed, that certainly does not end with the day, 
and just so through the long round of a farmer’s 
duties.” 

“ I know that, but my share of it ends there, 
and I want to learn all I can about the world I 
live in. I want to be something better than a 
farm servant. Our family has been at the foot of 
the ladder and now I want to begin climbing, and 
help them up too, if I can.” 

“There must be farm servants,” Alan sug- 


212 


CLIMBING 213- 

gested, more to draw Mike out than for any 
other reason. 

“ Of course there must, but that is no reason 
why I should be. They are generally contented 
to be that, and I am not.” 

“Ah, I like that. Discontent is one of the 
great factors in our world's progress. There is a 
kind of discontent that has something of the di- 
vine in it. What I object to is the disappoint- 
ment that comes through ignoble ambitions.” 

“ I mean to get fitter, as far as I am able, for 
some good place in the world, and I mean to look 
for it too.” 

Alan was surprised at the improvement in speech 
that the two years had brought to Mike. He had 
improved in other ways as well, and there were 
few traces of the slum life from which he had 
been rescued now clinging to him. 

Anselmo was growing now into quite a healthy, 
tongh-fibered young fellow. His patron, young 
Blake, had never quite lost his interest in the fiery 
little Italian. The weeks they had spent together 
in Newfoundland, followed by a further term on 
the Gloucester coast, had revealed to each that 
considerable imperfection was a characteristic they 
shared in common, but this knowledge unfor- 
tunately had failed to make them overlook the 
other’s shortcomings. Alan’s example had held 
Blake, to some degree, faithful to his charge, while 


214 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


the brightening face and well-rounded contours of 
the once angular boy, were fair recompense for 
the trouble incurred. 

Anselmo, however, held him in very humble 
estimation compared with Alan, and when the 
chance was now given to choose between Deep- 
lawn and Cape Ann’s rugged profile, the eagerness 
with which he decided for the former place left 
his patron both mystified and chagrined. He had 
patronized him now for two years, giving him cloth- 
ing and many a stray quarter, and now he was dis- 
appointed to find how little hold he had on the 
boy’s heart. 

“ He is an ungrateful little monkey. I have a 
mind to wash my hands of him entirely,” he said, 
as he looked at the unconcerned youth. 

“ You must try love on him as well as pennies. 
It goes deeper into the heart of the raggedest 
urchin you will find,” Alan said, as he bestowed a 
smile on the swarthy Italian, who loved him bet- 
ter than any one in the world, and whose dearest 
ambition was gratified by the prospect of a month 
at Deeplawn. 

What a summer those boys had together ! The 
month originally promised them was lengthened 
by weeks, and for a few days all the young men 
of the Newfoundland excursion who were near 
enough to come, joined them by special invitation. 
Alan was anxious that the interest between the 


CIvIMBING 


215 


lads and their former patrons should be maintained, 
and it amused as well as pleased him to see how 
the old feeling of ownership revived. If these 
young men could be influenced to take a lasting 
interest in their respective boys, see that a useful 
trade was given them, as they could all easily af- 
ford, and help them to get a start in life, what a 
mutual blessing it might be. 

Anselmo’s father found his way to Deeplawn 
with a hand-organ and monkey. To appease his 
housekeeper, Alan had taken for the boys’ quarters 
a huge granary that stood empty all summer until 
the fall threshings, fitting it up with hammocks 
and cots, and here the boys spent some of their 
gayest hours. There was always a spare cot for a 
friend, and no visitor was more welcome than 
Tagoni with his monkey and organ. He stayed a 
few days and then penetrated farther into the 
country in search of pennies, but soon returned 
resolved to make a lengthened sojourn. The hos- 
pitality was so bountiful he felt safe to venture 
upon it for a week. So many full meals in suc- 
cession would be a rich experience for himself and 
monkey. Anselmo catered for him in the kitchen, 
and brought the food to the granary, watching the 
supplies disappear with great complacency. His 
one regret was that the entire Tagoni connection 
was not there to share the abundance. 

Alan took little notice of the self-invited guests. 


2i6 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


If too many friends from tlie city slums came, he 
might be compelled to interfere, but a solitary 
Italian with a hungry-faced monkey, scarcely set a 
precedent for many to follow. Other visitors, as 
a rule, limited their stay to a day or two. Alan 
sometimes caught a glimpse of the burning eyes 
ill the pinched face following him with a dumb 
wistfulness, and was glad to make the poor crea- 
ture’s life happier for a few days. 

One day he produced a complete outfit to re- 
place the picturesque tatters. The garments were 
second-hand, but so skillfully remodeled by Mrs. 
Dingwell, they looked like new. When hagoni 
was given to understand that they were for him, 
his eyes grew luminous with emotion and as Alan 
walked away, the hand-organ fairly gasped as the 
excited musician ground out opera airs and love 
songs one after another. Anselmo, although ready 
to quarrel with his father on the slightest provo- 
cation, loved him after a fashion, and his gratitude 
when he saw his parent proudly walking up and 
down the granary in his new clothes, was only 
second to that of the happy wearer himself. 

The other boys shared the satisfaction of the 
Italians. The hand-organ and monkey had made 
them a very united family, so much so, in fact, 
that they forgot to be jealous of the lion’s share 
of good things falling to their hagoni acquaint- 
ances. 


CLIMBING 


217 


It was quite a gloomy day when the hand-organ 
and monkey departed. lyagoni was anxious to 
appear among his friends while still his garments 
were fresh. He could well anticipate the admira- 
tion of acquaintances for his good clothes, when 
they were all assembled at the Italian chapel on 
Sunday morning. Anselmo accompanied him some 
miles on the journey and so successful were they 
in drawing the pennies, that lyagoni felt rich 
enough to take the train for Providence, while 
Anselmo make the journey back on foot feeling 
quite light-hearted, for his father had given a halt- 
ing promise to come out with the family and take 
up life as a farm servant. 

Anselmo had taken him to visit the Dingwells, 
and the very homelike and thrifty appearance 
they presented was more eloquent than any words 
that Alan could use in bringing him to this de- 
cision. Mike’s appearance too, was helping to 
strengthen the boys’ discontent generally at their 
own rate of progress in the city. He had more 
money in the bank than they owned altogether, 
while his scholarship was far in advance of the 
best of them. 

“ We were fools and nothing else that we didn’t 
all come when he did.” Billy Spencer voiced the 
sentiments of the whole crowd as he said this, one 
rainy day, when they were sitting in their airy 
bedroom discussing matters in general. 


2i8 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


“ It’ a great pity we can’t go back a spell in our 
lives and do better than we’ve done,” Jacob Mo- 
lensky said, with considerable regret at the great 
mistake he, for one, had made two years before. 

“ We’re only young fellers yet, and it’s not too 
late to begin now,” Anselmo said, hopefully. “ See 
what old folks come to this country to begin their 
lives new.” 

“Yes, and what a mess a good many make of 
it. They think they must live in the cities, and 
they just burrow and starve. I’d sooner starve in 
a warm country than a cold one like this,” a 
pinched-faced boy, called William Mooney, said. 
He had a consumptive look, and appeared as 
though he was not likely to need a home anywhere 
in this world much longer. 

The result of that day’s conference was that 
they one and all decided to come to the country 
with or without their friends. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


LIFE AT OXFORD 



EAN’S course at Brown completed, lie went 


that autumn to Oxford. The boys were 
sent to their appointed places, and early in Sep- 
tember he sailed for England. Mr. Dolliver was 
still lingering on the shores of time, but neither 
he nor Alan expected to ever again see each other 
in this world. Their parting, however, was not 
sad. To each of them had come the consciousness 
that the two worlds, the natural and the spiritual, 
are not so far apart ; perhaps defective vision is the 
only separation. 

Alan took with him letters of recommendation 
from professors and friends in America to several 
of the Oxford dons, and these he presented on his 
arrival. He was not acquainted with their con- 
tents ; if he had been, in some cases his natural 
modesty might have prevented his delivering 
them. He gravitated at once to the company of 
evangelical students who lived, in one sense, as 
distinct from the great mass of young men as did 
the “ holy club ” in the days of Whitfield and the 
Wesleys. Yet they were not separatists in any 
derogatory sense. Representatives from them 


220 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


were the foremost athletes ; others held their own 
among the list of distinguished scholars ; but still 
they were as unlike the gay, worldly students as 
if they were of another order of creation. 

Some of these young men by right of birth 
would be expected one day to do their share in 
directing their country’s destiny ; rulers by inher- 
itance they were first mastering the more difficult 
task of self-government. There were others 
whose rent-rolls annually counted far up into the 
thousands, who had already laid all upon God’s 
altar and were now taking special training for 
missionary work in heathen lands. As he mingled 
with these young men, Alan realized anew the 
honor God had conferred on him by choosing him 
as fellow- workman with them, in the harvest field 
of the world. 

Melancholy reflections often came, as he com- 
pared them with that brother over the seas, Rex, 
who might have been occupying an honorable 
place in the world. The thought of this haunted 
him constantly, making him exceedingly reticent 
with fellow-students. He never spoke of home 
or kindred, and studiously avoided close intimacy 
with any of them, always refusing invitations to 
visit at their homes. He was dubbed Melchizedek 
by some of the wags, since he seemed to be one 
alone in the world. 

They very well knew that he did not come from 


LIFE AT OXFORD 


221 


the newly rich. Trained from babyhood them- 
selves, they recognized in him those subtle tokens 
of the gentle-born that money can never buy any 
more than it can brains, or the genius that pro- 
duces a Hamlet or an Angelus. But, notwith- 
standing his reticence on the matter of family 
history and connections, he was admitted by 
degrees into the charmed circles open only to 
those of noble heritage of birth or brains. 

Alan was deeply interested in these new ex- 
periences in the highly cultured society to which 
he was admitted. He clearly saw its defects, for 
the pride of birth and position as well as of 
intellect was very strong. There was also too 
much of the dilettante about the religious life. 

Among the renowned college dons there was 
little that savored of the cloister, or of self-denial 
for conscience’ sake, but they had their moral ex- 
cellencies, and for the youth who was closely 
studying them, they served as a contrast, sharp 
and clearly cut, for the other extremes of humanity 
among whom he went when leisure and opportu- 
nity offered. After a week of hard work, broken 
by an occasional refection in fashionable drawing 
rooms, he would slip into hondon on the Friday, 
and, taking lodgings in some malodorous East 
End quarter, would go down to the depths of 
human degradation. It was his way of keeping 
his heart healthy and crowding out the world- 


222 , 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


liness and pride of life for which he had a horror, 
born of strong temptation thereto. 

None of his student friends knew how he spent 
those holidays, or what fascination drew him from 
them so mysteriously, and forbade him all enjoy- 
ment of the home life of the higher ranks to 
which classmates had often invited him. But 
one day one of his student friends, a prospective 
baronet, came across him in those dreary moral 
and social wastes. By chance, or it may have 
been by divine prevision their paths intersected 
there, for each was working out his own ideals of 
duty according to his light. 

Alan flushed uneasily when his friend came 
into the mission hall, for they had been for some 
time friends, approaching intimacy. He had been 
talking to a motly crowd, who hung on his words 
with an eagerness that would have been flattering 
to a more self-conscious speaker, but he went 
bravely on with his address, while he felt the thrill 
of inspiration that comes from a listener mentally 
a peer. At the close, Seymour waited for him. 

“Is this what you are about?’’ he asked, with 
a grip of his muscular hand that told Alan at 
once he was in hearty sympathy with his work. 

“ It would seem that we are in the same boat,” 
Alan said, drily. 

“ Well, yes, I am trying to do a little, but I did 
not know you went so far afield.’^ 


LIFE AT OXFORD 


223 


“Is it hopeless work, do you think?” Alan 
asked, somewhat wearily. He had been going 
about all day between garrets and mission halls, 
visiting the sick and dying, and speaking to men 
and women in even worse condition than some of 
the sick he had visited, and the misery he had 
met was pressing heavily on his heart. 

“We have our marching orders to go out and 
work, our Captain will care for results. I do not 
let myself worry over the great mass of sin. What 
is the use? But I try to do something by way 
of lessening it, and there my responsibility 
ends.” 

Alan looked at the high-bred, handsome youth 
and felt a strong admiration mixed with a warmer 
sentiment, for this noble young fellow who could 
so far forget himself as to leave an elegant home 
in Mayfair, and congenial society, for work like 
this. The world would surely be restored some 
day to something approaching its original purity, 
since there were so many giving themselves to the 
work of accomplishing it. Alan’s face grew more 
cheerful as he said : 

“ It does me good to meet you here. I have 
been feeling particularly discouraged for I have 
seen so much misery to-day. It has seemed to me 
that the lyord Jesus could never come into his 
own rights in the world he created and has died 
to redeem. What glimpses one gets here of the 


224- 'I'HE master of dekpeawn 

divine patience and longsufFering ! I have never 
found such els where.” 

“ I know it is horrible, the misery we see, but 
what if we were born in it, had it for our only in- 
heritance, as these poor wretches have ? ” He 
swept a glance around the crowded hall, for a fresh 
congregation had been gathering, and a new meet- 
ing was just about to begin. 

“When I think of that it seems as if I could 
not do enough to prove my gratitude for what has 
been given to me ; but why do you come down 
among our festering masses? We are not your 
countrymen? ” 

“ Partly because every man is the same to me, 
no matter what his country ; and besides, we are 
apt to grow selfish, our every-day life crowds out 
the thought of what men and women are enduring 
who have not had our chances, who have had no 
chance to grow up anything but depraved, who 
have had everything against them. I find coming 
here is an excellent tonic for keeping my inner 
man healthy.” 

“Ah, yes, I see you disclaim being purely a 
philanthropist. You study your individual needs 
as well. I fear only a few go so far into the 
analysis of their motives.” 

“ I find my most healthful way to work is to 
forget myself as far as possible, certainly not to 
undertake too much analysis of my motives. If 


LIFE AT OXFORD 


225 


I did I should give myself up as a worthless speci- 
men. I think these poor creatures will find the 
help I give them much the same no matter what 
motive impels me to the task.” 

“ I take exception to that statement,” Seymour 
said. “The gifts we receive from another are 
affected by the spirit through which they come.” 

“ That may be true philosophy, but I am glad 
to believe that religion has no cast-iron rules in 
the matter. I have known the veriest scamp get 
up in this hall, move his hearers deeply by his 
appeals to them to live better, and bring them 
out to the penitents’ seats, as few consistent work- 
ers can do. These are mysteries which sometimes 
perplex me.” 

” That is true, but what I want now is to take 
you home with me to dinner. These problems 
will await adjustment later on.” 

“Do you mean to your own home?” Alan 
asked, with evident anxiety. 

“ Yes, my mother will be very glad to meet 
you. They all fancy they know you very well 
through my descriptions.” 

“I have no other suit with me — I could not 
think of presenting myself before your family 
in such costume.” 

“My dear fellow, that need not give you a mo- 
ment’s uneasiness. My mother, and all the rest of 
them, welcome my friends in whatever garments 

p 


226 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

suit their convenience. You have no idea what 
a sensible woman my mother is about these trifling 
conventionalities. Yet Lady Seymour is a superb 
woman, — pardon my egotism for saying so, — and I 
think you will love her when you know her. 
There are few like her in this part of the world. 
I believe you are very opulent in noble women in 
America. Some day you will let me visit you, I 
hope.’’ 

Alan turned a very glad face to his friend. 

‘‘Won’t you come home with me for the sum- 
mer? I think you will like the quiet of Deep- 
lawn for a while, and then we can go on long 
tramps in the mountains or along shore, wherever 
you like.” Alan spoke with boyish enthusiasm. 

“ It is just what I have been longing for, but 
I hesitated to beg the invitation, especially as you 
are so reticent about home and kindred.” 

“ I have no kindred nearer than cousins and 
uncles, except a brother ; but he is a wreck through 
dissipation. That is the cause of my reticence.” 

“We take this tram-car.” Seymour signaled 
the driver, and together they entered the car. 

“ I may as well go with you as far as you go. 
I am tired and shall make no more visits to-day,” 
Alan said, as he dropped into a vacant seat beside 
his friend. 

“ Of course you will go as far as I go, and no 
farther for some hours to come. To keep you in 


LIFE AT OXFORD 


227 


countenance, I will wear what I have on/’ He 
gave Alan a critical glance. “It will make little 
difference what any of ns wear where you are, 
since, by all odds, you will be the handsomest 
man in almost any gathering without much help 
from your tailor.” 

“ I am out of sorts to-night, and would rather 
present myself before your mother some other 
time and under more favorable circumstances ; I 
shall no doubt fall in love with her and want to 
visit her again,” Alan rejoined, ignoring the com- 
pliment. 

“ Is it only the older women you are given to 
falling in love with ? ” Seymour said, with a smile ; 
“ or have you some sweetheart among those beau- 
tiful country-women of yours with the mammoth 
fortunes ? ” 

“I never had a sweetheart in my life,” Alan 
said, frankly. “ My brother had so much of that 
sort of thing, that I made up my mind it was not 
going to be the main pursuit of my life, as it seems 
to be for some. If I ever fall in love I shall do 
my best to win the damsel, but I won’t let it de- 
stroy my happiness if I fail. That is only one 
experience out of a thousand that go to make up 
the sum total of our existence.” 

“ Hear him ! ” Seymour said, with a smile. 
“My dear boy, if you ever should be caught you 
won’t philosophize in that calm way. When you 


228 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


are ‘ in for it ’ you will think it is a life or death 
matter; at least that is the experience of some 
poor wretches.’’ 

“Then I most devoutly hope I may never be 
‘ in for it,’ and I scarcely think I shall.” 

“ Don’t be too lofty. I hope I may be your 
confidant when the time does come.” 

“ I promise to make you acquainted, if I do be- 
come a victim, with all my symptoms and suffer- 
ings.” 

In due time they reached the street that led to 
Seymour’s residence, and the subject of sweet- 
hearts was changed to topics more suited to the 
day. Alan made no further resistance to his 
friend’s entreaties. To tell the truth, he had a 
strong curiosity to see what this young man’s 
mother was like. He had an impression that 
boys, as a rule, were mostly what their mothers 
made them by heredity and training. He fancied 
the lady mother of this young man must be of 
the finest quality of motherhood to produce such 
a son. 

The house was a grand abode, but it was not 
the house so much as the occupants that Alan 
was interested to see. Seymour took him directly 
to his own room, where he was able to make a few 
needed additions to his toilet, and then he was 
assured that he would pass muster with the best. 
A servant was summoned and the command given 


UFE AT OXFORD 


229 


for an extra plate to be laid, and then they pro- 
ceeded to the drawing room for an informal pre- 
sentation before dinner should be announced. 
Alan found a small circle gathered around a 
bright wood fire, some half-dozen or more ladies 
and gentlemen. He was able at the first glance 
to distinguish I^ady Seymour, who at once rose 
and came graciously to meet her son and welcome 
the friend he had brought. 

“This is Mr. Rivers, my American friend, 
whom you have heard me frequently mention.” 

The presentation was made so informally Alan 
was at once put at ease. Sir Thomas had the 
same cordial hand-clasp as his son. One of the 
other gentlemen proved to be one of London’s 
most famous divines, whom Alan had heard from 
afar and admired, not only for his eloquence and 
strong intellectual grasp, but for his fearlessness 
in the performance of whatever he felt to be duty. 
Two of the ladies, he discovered, were daughters 
of his host. They struck him as pretty, lady- 
like girls, but not nearly so beautiful and fas- 
cinating as Lady Seymour, and she seemed to be 
drawn at once to him. There was a rare lighting 
up of countenance as her son Lionel described 
the mission hall, the speaker, and the motley 
crowd listening with such rapt attention to his 
words. 

“ I wish you could have been there, mother. 


230 the master of deepeawn 

Some day when he talks to them we must go to- 
gether. ’ ’ 

“I shall be most glad to go/’ she said, heartily. 

Alan looked his surprise. 

“To such a place!” he exclaimed. “Surely 
you would not think of it ? ” 

“ My mother is not afraid of anything. She is 
as well known in Whitechapel as in Mayfair, I 
believe ; indeed, her heart is more interested in 
the former place, I am sure.” 

There was reverence as well as admiration in 
the look Alan bent upon her, but he was silent. 
She met his glance and instinctively felt that just 
then silence was the highest compliment that he 
could pay her. 

“ I am very glad you and my son are friends,” 
she said, earnestly. 

A warm flush crept into his face as he bowed 
his thanks, but was again silent. The conversa- 
tion then became general, but Alan still remained 
near her ladyship and she seemed pleased with his 
mute admiration. When dinner was announced 
he took the eldest daughter and sat beside her, 
but still his attention was divided with the 
mother. 

When they returned to the drawing room, Tionel 
said to him, jokingly : “ Have you fallen in love 
with my mother? I never saw you so devoted 
to a lady before.” 


LIFE AT OXFORD 


231 


“ I certainly have fallen in love, but it is the 
love I would have given my own mother if I had 
known her ; I never realized so keenly my loss as 
I do to-day.” 

“ I shall tell my mother some time, what you 
say. I believe too, she has taken you into her 
heart. She does not often treat strangers as she 
has you to-night.” 

“ There is no need for explanation or protesta- 
tion when there is genuine friendship.” 

“ What a philosopher ! When I like any one 
particularly I want to tell them so, and have a 
compact of mutual friendship.” 

“You never made any such arrangement with 
me.” 

“ Well, no, there did not seem any necessity. 
I felt I could trust you without a formal under- 
standing on the subject.” 

“ I can do the same with her ladyship, your 
mother. ’ ’ 

“Women are different from us in that respect. 
You have no idea how inquisitive they are about 
the way their friends regard them. I fancy you 
have not had much experience with womankind, 
their ways and peculiarities.” 

“ I have not, neither have I felt my loss very 
keenly until to-day ; but if I had a friend among 
women, I would want her to understand that I 
cared for her always, no matter if I never told her 


232 the master of deeplawn 

so. Indeed, it seems to me it would only weaken 
the bond connecting us if it were necessary for 
me to repeat the assurances of my regard.” 

“ I most devoutly hope some good woman will 
snare you before long ; you will find yourself in a 
new world, where all your preconceived philoso- 
phies and axioms will avail you nothing. But we 
seem determined to fall into argument on this 
topic to-day. You must hear my sister lyucia play. 
I noticed you did not seem to get on very inti- 
mate terms during dinner. She is next best to my 
mother, only it takes a long time to find her out. 
She is as much like a sphinx as yourself, I be- 
lieve.” 

L/ionel went to his sister, and a moment after 
she followed him to the piano. Alan drew near. 
He liked music, but he was fastidious about that, 
as well as many other things. 

“ It seems to me I can tell what suits you in the 
way of music,” hionel said, as he turned over a 
pile. At last he lifted a folio and placing it be- 
fore his sister, said : “ This will suit the day, and 
I think the audience as well. ” 

It was selections from the oratorios of several of 
the great masters. Lancia struck the opening bars. 
Alan failed to recognize the composition, as he 
was not deeply versed in musical lore, but he had 
a large capacity for the enjoyment of superior 
music. 


LIFE AT OXFORD 


233 


He glanced at the player, the first time he had 
looked at her closely. Her face was in profile, fine 
and clearly cut as a cameo, with exquisite coloring. 
While she played it brightened, and a look of con- 
scious power took the place of the girlish timidity 
that had at first struck him as her characteristic 
expression. She now looked more like her 
mother, or as her mother might have looked 
five and twenty years before. 

Alan found himself more interested in the mu- 
sician than the music, and was slightly confused 
when at the end of the selection Lionel turned to 
him and said : 

“ Don’t you think Lucia interprets the thought 
of the master very well for a girl ? ’ ’ 

‘‘ That is not fair ; as if girls could not compre- 
hend the best things,” Lucia said, playfully. 

“ It is your age, dear, and not your sex, that I 
refer to. Remember, youth is something you will 
very quickly get over.” 

“ May we have some more music? ” Alan pleaded. 
There was a novel fascination for him in watch- 
ing the girlish face lighting up and the eyes dilat- 
ing. It was this more than the music itself in 
which he was interested. 

It seemed they were lovers of music, for Lionel 
kept turning the leaves to new music while she 
obediently translated the score into fine harmony. 
Alan had never before realized what home life 


234 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


meant He felt his respect for lyionel Seymour 
growing stronger as he thought : Surely it must 
be a sacrifice to leave this charming circle, and go 
down among the degraded and unhappy ; to climb 
dismal attic stairs and kneel beside some trem- 
bling, dying creature, dreading the final plunge 
into awful futurity, and yet sick unto death of the 
world he is leaving. 

The music ceased, when he turned impetuously 
to Lionel and said : 

“You make me ashamed of myself. I never 
could tear myself away from a fireside like this, 
and go where we have been to-day. ” 

“ Yes, you would. Do you know it was some 
words of yours that first made me think about my 
life, what it was, and what it might be ? That is 
why you are more to me in some ways than any 
other man in the world.” 

Lucia was standing near, her face still lighted, 
her eyes shining through a suspicion of tears. 
Alan turned slightly away. What had been said, 
following close upon the thoughts that had been 
smouldering in his heart, had sent the hot blood 
mounting to his temples. Lionel went on, after 
a rather constrained silence, to say : 

“ It never occurred to me to make this confes- 
sion to you before. It did not seem necessary ; for 
you always impress me as so complete in yourself, 
words of praise or blame are alike to you.” 


UFK AT OXFORD 


235 


Alan turned to I^ucia and said : 

“ Your brother scarcely gives me my due. I do 
not think any one could enjoy praise from friendly 
lips more than I ; my life has been a singularly 
lonely one, especially in regard to kindred.” 

“ That is the reason some of our wags have 
dubbed you Melchizedek ; we never heard you 
mention the existence of a single human being 
connected with you by the tie of blood.” 

“ As I told you before, to-day, I have no near 
relatives save a brother, and he is hopelessly in- 
sane.” 

lyucia looked excedingly shocked, which Alan 
did not fail to observe, but if she could have 
known what an effort it was on the part of their 
guest to make the confession, that was to him so 
dreadful and yet seemed so imperative, she would 
liave been still more so. 

“ My dear fellow, don’t mention it.” 

“ Well, I told you the very worst ; it only seemed 
honorable that I should do so. ’ ’ 

The brother and sister exchanged expressive 
glances, but they were lost upon Alan, for just 
then he was busy studying the pattern of the rug 
at his feet. 

The hour was getting late and it was time for 
him to leave. He was wishing most devoutly 
that this was a middle-class family where etiquette 
was not so rigid. He longed to come here for a 


236 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

few hours every time he came up to lyondon; 
probably that would then be oftener than ever. 

To his deep satisfaction, when he was taking 
his leave, an invitation to repeat his visit was as 
cordially extended as if he had been going from a 
peasant’s cottage. 


CHAPTER XIX 


ANTICIPATIONS 



LAN returned to Oxford the following morn- 


ing with his mental horizon considerably 
widened. 

He had never realized before how rich life might 
be ; what varied sources of happiness God in his 
love had provided for man. He talked with Sey- 
mour about it, for they occupied the same com- 
partment, when at last the latter burst out : 

“ Why, Rivers, I should say you had fallen in 
love with Lucia, only that I know it is impos- 
sible.” 

Alan gave him a keen, surprised look, and then 
said, dryly : 

“Yes, I know such a thing should be impos- 
sible, but we are not always able to control our 
wishes.” 

“But — ” Lionel hesitated, and then pushing 
boldly on said, “you misunderstand me. I mean 
that you are not one to fall in love so suddenly ; 
you are too much of a philosopher for such weak- 
ness ; and then Lucia seems only a child.” 

Alan was silent ; forgetting his promise of the 
previous day, he would not talk over this perplex- 


238 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


ing, torturing phantasy that had seized him, so 
strange and different from any experience he had 
ever known, but holding possibilities of happiness 
or bitterness that were bewildering. 

Lionel waited for him to say something further, 
but Alan turned his face to the window, and was . 
apparently absorbed in the landscape. At last 
Lionel broke the silence by asking : 

“ When shall we see you again in London ? ’’ 

“ I cannot say.” 

“ My mother bade me ask you to stay with us 
the next time you came.” 

“ Your mother is very kind, but ” he hesi- 

tated. 

“ There can be no buts. My mother has 
taken a strong liking for you. However, she 
did not bid me convey that piece of information 
to you.” 

“I may not go to London again until we sail 
for America. You will not fail me in that?” 
There was a boyish eagerness in face and voice as 
he made the request. 

“ I shall certainly not fail you, life and health 
permitting. My mother is charmed with the idea, 
and has half promised to come over in the fall to 
return with us.” 

“And your sister, will she come too? I think 
she would like Deeplawn and our boys.” 

Lionel shot a keen glance into the eager face, 


ANTICIPATIONS 239 

and read there what the other scarcely understood 
as yet. 

“Very probably my sisters will both go. I 
know they will be wild to do so, when I convey 
to them your very kind invitation. My mother 
always takes them with her when she is traveling. 
She is their head teacher, although they have 
tutors besides. My mother is very strong on edu- 
cation.’’ 

Lionel noticed that the depression, which had 
at first puzzled him, now quite gave way to un- 
usual exuberance of spirits, but he also found it 
useless to press any further the question of another 
visit to his home. He asked at last : 

“What did you mean when you spoke about 
your boys at Deeplawn ? They cannot be brothers 
or nephews ? ’ ’ 

“No, they are of different nationalities, and no 
relation to me except through our common 
brotherhood. I have Irish, German, Italian, and 
our native-born American, represented there.” 

“Where did you get them, and what are you 
doing with them ? ” 

“ I picked them up while I was at Brown. 
They are genuine ‘ shimmers ’ from the most de- 
graded parts of Providence. I began with thirteen, 
but some have gotten into other homes, and some 
have gone back to the depths from which I tried 
to draw them. The others I have scattered among 


240 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

the work-people on my property. I am wanting 
to make farmers of them all. Indeed, if I can 
accomplish it, I want some day to take a whole 
colony out into the far West. I am negotiating 
now for a large tract of government land for the 
purpose.” 

‘‘Why do you want to make them all farmers?” 

“ A good many have wild blood in their veins, 
and a strong temptation to evil through heredity. 
I believe there is no calling so safe for such as the 
agricultural. I am trying to work on scientific 
principles, and not to blunder any more than is 
necessary in the dark, but to make every penny 
expended bring its equivalent in helpfulness to 
somebody.” 

“ Upon my word, you are experimenting in 
philanthropy on a rather large scale. Why have 
you never told any of us what you are doing? ” 

“ I did not think any of you were especially in- 
formed on such work. Perhaps I have made a 
mistake, however ; in the multitude of counsellors 
there may be larger wisdom gained.” 

“ I did not mean that we could advise with you 
in your undertaking, but we could admire and 
appreciate your generous endeavors.” 

Alan smiled as he said, playfully : 

“ That would not help me any. I make myself 
content to work without other commendation than 
that which comes from the conscience.” 


ANTICIPATIONS 


241 


“ You are an entire commonwealth in yourself, 
I see. You must come with me to London during 
the Easter holidays at the farthest, for I want 
my mother to hear all about those boys of yours, 
and your Western colony that is to be. You may 
be sure that now she will accept your invitation 
to visit you in America. Those boys will take 
her, if nothing else would. How she will mother 
the poor fellows ! You have no idea what a wide, 
motherly heart she has for such waifs and strays. 
I often have glimpses of the great love of God 
through that of my mother.” 

There were tears in the young man’s eyes as he 
spoke, making Alan realize afresh how much he 
had missed through the loss of his mother, and, 
indeed, all the tender, gracious ministries of cul- 
tivated Christian womanhood. Mrs. Dixon and 
her staff of housemaids, for anything save attend- 
ance on his material comforts, were no better than 
so many lay figures, while occasional gatherings 
in fashionable drawing rooms gave him little 
chance to study the higher types of womanhood. 

He plunged more eagerly than ever into study 
now. There was so much to win, as well as to 
accomplish for others. To niake himself, by 
supremest efforts of intellect and will, as complete 
in character and mental development as he was 
capable of becoming, was his aim. The world 
seemed so full of possibilities, not merely for per- 
Q 


243 the master of deepeawn 

sonal development, but for service, he felt every 
hour as it came was freighted with promise. lyife 
appeared to him so superbly rich in its manifold 
gifts, if he were only brave and true enough to 
grasp it in all its completeness. While he recog- 
nized all its uncertainties and possibilities of 
anguish, he also realized that out of them might 
come development that no success or enjoyment 
could ever bring. So he was able calmly to front 
whatever the future might hold, strengthened by 
his confidence in the infinite wisdom to which he 
had entrusted everything. 

Easter came and went, but he did not go up to 
Eondon; he was perfectly conscious of a very 
strong drawing in that direction, but there were 
difficulties in the way of a further acquaintance 
that time and circumstance might or might not 
remove. In case it should be the latter, the better 
it would be for his peace of mind to see as little 
as possible of one who might have it in her power 
to test his philosophy very fully. 

The time came, however, when he must make 
the visit or else appear ungrateful. Another 
college year had closed. The splendid ceremo- 
nies, when the hundreds of students year after 
year complete their courses, had passed by. 
Eionel Seymour was among these, and, with no 
particular work awaiting him he, with the others, 
was glad this portion of his life was closed. He 


ANTICIPATIONS 


243 


was just now full of enthusiasm over the journey 
to America with Alan, which they were to begin 
in a few days. 

Alan had consented to accompany him as far 
as London in order that he might, in person, in- 
vite Lady Seymour and her daughters to Deep- 
lawn. He had been so reticent about his other 
visit that Lionel had well-nigh forgotten his sus- 
picions, or concluded that he had mistaken ad- 
miration for a deeper sentiment. 

They reached home in the late twilight. Lionel 
had fully expected his mother and sister to be 
present with his father to witness his graduating 
honors, but a slight illness had prevented his 
mother from c6ming. They found her able to 
receive them, although looking somewhat frail. 
Alan could not help coveting the welcome that 
awaited his friend, his mother and sisters seemed 
so proud of the limited honors he had been able 
to win. 

“ I do not know what you would have done if I 
had got on as well as my friend Rivers,” Lionel 
said, modestly disclaiming their lavish praises. 

“ If I had any one to be so proud of any success 
I mio-ht win, that alone would be better than the 
honors,” Alan said, feeling there was no one in the 
wide world who would be particularly gladdened 
or grieved over what he might accomplish or leave 
undone. 


244 MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

“ You would have much more than your share 
if, with all your honors and successes, you had an 
admiring family circle to welcome their conquer- 
ing hero,” was the laughing rejoinder. 

“ And without that admiring circle to remind 
you of what you have been able to accomplish, 
you will soon forget your honors, and go on to 
fresh achievements. Is not that so? ” Lady Sey- 
mour asked, kindly. 

‘ ‘ It may be. One must fill one^s heart with 
something.” 

“ Your heart, I should say, was overflowing 
already,” Lionel said. “Do you know, mother, 
he has a whole colony of boys under his wing ? I 
tell him they alone will be sufficient attraction to 
draw you to America.” 

“I do not think I shall need even as much as 
that. My physicians order a sea voyage as soon 
as I am able to travel. They spoke very favorably 
of a trip to America. If you and Mr. Rivers will 
undertake to look after us while we are there, we 
shall feel perfectly safe to start out alone. Sir 
Thomas has a great dislike to a long sea voyage ; 
even the trip from Dover to Calais tries his nerves 
severely.” She seemed anxious to explain to 
Alan why they undertook so long a journey un- 
attended. 

“Shall we not wait for you?” Alan asked, 
eagerly. 


ANTICIPATIONS 245 

“It is not necessary. lyionel could not content 
himself, I fear.” 

“ If you desire it, mother, I will certainly wait 
for you.” His face expressed his real sentiments 
more truthfully than his words. 

“No, Lionel, I will not accept that sacrifice. I 
shall not be well enough to leave for some time, 
and then we shall have the joy of looking for 
your faces among the crowd when we reach the 
land. It will be something to anticipate.” 

She did not know the pleasure it gave her guest 
to hear her use the plural, neither had she any 
idea with what eagerness he too would be antici- 
pating that meeting amid the crowd on the Cunard 
wharf at East Boston. He was naturally shy with 
ladies. To-night he was more so than usual. 
Lucia and Maude wondered that Lionel should 
see so much to admire in one so quiet, and yet 
they too recognized some rare charm about him, 
more easily experienced than described. 

Sir Thomas joined them later, and then the 
experiences of the last few days were recounted. 
Alan noticed that Lady Seymour and her daugh- 
ters were as much inclined as any one to make 
heroes of the men who had taken double first 
honors in their respective colleges ; while she and 
Sir Thomas went over the family histories of 
those whom they knew, speculating how this or 
that one had suddenly developed intellectual 


246 the master of deepeawn 

powers not usual in his family. He was amused 
at the persistence with which I^ady Seymour en- 
deavored to trace their pedigree back to some re- 
mote maternal ancestress who had a turn for 
literary pursuits, generally with some success. 

“ One needs to have brains on his mother’s 
side, near or remote, if he would amount to 
much intellectually, in my wife’s estimation,” 
Sir Thomas said, laughingly. “ She holds us 
fathers very lightly indeed in those matters.” 

“No one has ever heard me express such a 
mutinous thought,” she said, brightly. 

“ My dear, the dullest of mortals could read it 
between the lines ; but, remember, I do not wish 
to deny your theory. My own children will be 
more clever if they take after their mother.” 

“That is a very gracious concession. Lady Sey- 
mour,” Alan said. 

“ My mother is well used to those concessions,” 
Lucia remarked, quietly. 

“But they do not spoil her. We can never 
make her understand her actual worth, no matter 
how profuse we may be with our compliments,” 
Lionel said, with a fond look into the lovely face 
smiling so tenderly upon him. 

“ Shall we turn the conversation ? Mr. Rivers 
will be surfeited with the enumeration of my ex- 
cellencies. We seem to reckon him as one of 
ourselves, it seems to me.” 


ANTICIPATIONS 


247 


A quick look of pleasure flashed from his face, 
and she remembered that he had no near kindred, 
and to be treated in that way by I^ionel’s family 
would probably please rather than annoy him. 

Alan was amazed when Lionel pointed to his 
watch. 

“ Do you know that a to-morrow is just upon 
us ? Only three or four minutes of this notable day 
remain.” 

Alan took out his own watch to convince 
Lionel that he was wrong, but that too, proved 
that the evening must soon be a memory. Lucia 
then went to the piano, the evening hymn was 
sung, Lionel led in prayer, and the good-nights 
were spoken, thus ending one of the happiest 
evenings of Alan’s life. 


CHAPTER XX 


WYNDHURST 


lONEE begged for a week before leaving for 



America. He was anxious to go down to 
Hampshire for a few days, to their country seat, 
and show Alan the house that had sheltered the 
Seymours for six hundred years ; where the barons 
of the olden time had held high festival with the 
neighboring gentry and their own retainers. Here 
brides had come in their dewy youth, spent their 
brief term and then, aged and wrinkled dames, 
had passed to the other world, leaving behind, 
them as tokens of their individual selves only a 
faded portrait in the gallery and nothing more. 

Here boys and girls for twenty generations had 
indulged their dreams of valor and of happiness, 
and now were themselves scarcely memories, so 
poor a record does this world keep of the most of 
its sons and daughters. 

Alan was charmed with the prospect of visiting 
this old baronial hall and willingly postponed his 
journey for the purpose. 

Eionel was anxious to have his sisters accom- 
pany them. 

“ It will be gloomy in the old house without 


WYNDHURST 


249 


some girlish faces to brighten it,” he pleaded. 
But his mother, with her keen sense of the fitness 
of things, was not willing to let them, unless she 
herself accompanied them, and this, in her present 
health, was impossible. 

“ Madame Malet will come then,” he suggested. 
She was the French governess and a stickler for 
the proprieties ; but Madame did not approve any- 
more than her ladyship, so the young men went 
off alone. 

Alan was sensitive enough to wonder, if he had 
been to the manner born, would my lady have 
been so strict ; but he did not let the troublesome 
fancy long affect his spirits. Fionel telegraphed 
for a team to meet them some twenty miles from 
Wyndhurst, so that they might enjoy the drive 
through country lanes and among the hills. They 
reached the Hall in the late afternoon. The 
approach to it was through a mile-long avenue of 
elms and oaks, with glimpses through the trees of 
park and meadow fair enough, almost, for a world 
where sin had never entered. As they drove 
slowly along lyionel said : 

“Do you blame me that I have no higher 
ambition than to live here by-and-by with my 
boys and girls, making my tenantry as happy as 
I can, fulfilling both in letter and spirit the duty 
of the country squire? I will not, of course, con- 
fine myself to this, but do also what lies in my 


250 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

power to help the erring and wretched to a better 
life.’’ 

“ It is, no doubt, a cheerful outlook into the 
future ; but you must first make sure it is your 
only calling,” Alan said, gravely. 

“There must be the rich and poor, the high and 
the lowly. Is not that a necessity in the polity of 
this planet?” Tioiiel asked, a trifle anxiously. 
“ You know Christ said, ‘ Render unto Csesar the 
things that are Caesar’s.’ ” 

‘ ‘ He also commanded the rich young ruler to 
leave all and follow him.” 

“You are yourself very rich?” Tionel ques- 
tioned. 

“My income is large, but I am forced to stint 
myself to make my yearly income and outlay 
balance.” 

“ May I ask whence the necessity for such 
economy on your part?” 

“ Conscience commands it.” 

“ You do not sell all, as the young ruler was 
commanded to do.” 

“For the excellent reason that my property 
yields a larger income than funds otherwise in- 
vested might do, and besides, it is safer.” 

“ The command was given to sell and give it 
up, if you remember,” Tionel persisted, with a 
smile. 

“ I have thought seriously about that too, but it 


WYNDHURST 


251. 


seems to me that I can be as safe an almoner of 
my own means as any of the great religious cor- 
porations to which I might entrust it My will is 
made in case of death.” 

‘‘You think of everything, it seems to me. In 
this case can I not do the same? Keep my 
property, and use my own discretion in the way 
my gifts are bestowed ? Or rather, do that when I 
come into full possession at my father’s death.” 

“You may have a good many years to live 
before that takes place and you will have gifts 
unoccupied in the meantime. Could you not go 
to India, or Africa, any place that men are sorely 
needed, and accomplish before that time a splendid 
work, revolutionize in some way a thousand lives 
which in God’s sight are as precious as ours? 
After that, there might be years of rest and enjoy- 
ment for you.” 

“Yes, and I might die in those poisonous 
climates, and what then ? This property would 
pass into a distant branch of the family ; I am the 
only hope of our line of the Seymours.” 

“ Take your wife with you and send your boys 
and girls home to your mother. She would train 
them as well as you could.” 

“ My promised wife would not consent to such 
a course.” 

“Have you asked her?” 

“ Certainly not, it would be useless. She is the 


252 the master of deeplawn 

daughter of an earl, a brave, true girl, but not 
willing to be a martyr by any means.” 

“ If you ask her consent your duty will be done, 
and the responsibility will be with her. Pardon 
me for being so insistent, but the conversation 
was suggested by you. I am merely telling you 
what I think.” 

“Would you be willing to go out and bury 
yourself like that ? ” Lionel asked. 

“ I have envied the men who had the call. God 
knows there is nothing I would like better, but 
duty, and circumstances I cannot control, point in 
another direction. I have given myself to God’s 
service, heart and soul, wherever he appoints.” 

Lionel was silent for some time, at last he said : 

“I wish you could see Helen. If you could 
be with her for a few days you might inspire her. 
May I write her to come with my mother and 
sisters to visit you in America?” 

“ With all my heart I extend the invitation, but 
not with the expectation of influencing her, for 
any call that I might give to such work would 
not sustain her long amid the difficulties and lone- 
liness of a foreign land.” 

“You might waken her interest; nine-tenths of 
the Christian world, it seems to me, are asleep. 
Sometimes when I am talking with you, the old 
question asked of the Master by his disciples 
comes to me powerfully, ‘Who then can be 


WYNDHURST 253 

saved ? ’ The answer given by him does not 
quiet my conscience.” 

The carriage had reached the main entrance, 
where a woman in black silk, with a couple of 
maids, were waiting to welcome the young master. 
Alan glanced eagerly at the huge pile of stone. 
Gloomy enough it seemed as it towered above 
them, covered with ivy. The central part was 
very ancient, he could see at once. Loophole 
windows and frowning turrets confronted them 
with no cheerful air of welcome, but there were 
additions of a later date that had a more homelike 
appearance. 

Lionel spoke graciously to the women, and 
introduced Alan to Mrs. Deems, the housekeeper. 
She was a heavy, stately sort of body, much more 
impressed with the dignities of the house than by 
the actual owners. She led the way through a 
long hall that ran all the way to the rear of the 
building, some seventy feet or more. A veritable 
museum it seemed to Alan as, in a swift glance, he 
took in its stately proportions and vast collection 
of interesting objects, ancient and modern. 

‘‘This part of the house is my mother’s favorite,” 
Lionel said, as he paused with Alan beside an 
ancient coat of mail, its empty casque presenting 
a more forbidding aspect than the most warlike 
countenance. “ I mean, this whole room,” he 
added, seeing Alan’s look of surprise that this 


254 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


relic of five hundred years ago should have a 
special charm for one so gentle. 

“I believe this place is full of people for her. 
When she came here a bride, she had at first a 
horror of it, and not until I was a little toddler at 
her side, making bold with the armor my an- 
cestors used to wear, and with their swords and 
battle-axes, did she grow interested in them. She 
has a vivid imagination, and has read and dreamed 
so much about these old Seymours who have gone 
to dust that they have become nearly like real 
flesh and blood creatures to her. lyucia is much 
the same. She is never so happy as at Wynd- 
hurst. My father tells her she must never marry 
unless her husband can take her to some such 
home. I tell her nothing short of ducal halls, 
with histories ranging back a thousand years or 
more, will satisfy her. She has such an alert 
mind, our few hundreds of years of antiquity are 
scarcely enough for her.” 

Alan turned abruptly away and began studying 
a jeweled sword that once was borne by Warwick, 
the king-maker. Lionel soon interrupted him. 

“We must get ready for dinner. Mrs. Deems 
says everything is done to a turn. I have ordered 
our rooms adjoining in the older part of the house. 
We have a traditionary ghost or two there, and I 
thought you might like to form their acquaint- 
ance, if their ghostships are so disposed. ’ ’ 


WYNDHURST 


255 


“ It will be delightful, but I am afraid ” 

lyionel interrupted him. 

“ How can it be delightful, if you are afraid ?” 
he said, laughing. 

“I was going to add, I am afraid they won’t 
favor me with an interview.” 

I am very sorry we have no way of stirring 
them up, and I am of the opinion they have left us 
altogether. There has been no complaint laid 
against them since my mother came. Fresh ser- 
vants may have had something to do with it. 
She did not care for the service when she came, 
and pensioned all of them, bringing in a new sup- 
ply. It was no doubt more modern and comfort- 
able ; but, as a boy, there was nothing I enjoyed 
better than a visit to the garrulous old creatures 
to get them talking of the traditions and ghosts 
of Wyndhurst.” 

They had now reached the rooms appropriated 
to them on the second floor. There was a bright 
fire burning in each, which was a necessity be- 
cause of the dampness. The tiny windows let in 
such broken rays of light, that the fires, shedding 
a cheery glow, quite eclipsed the sunshine. There 
was only a dressing room dividing their rooms, 
which Lionel planned they were to share in 
common. 

“ This is splendid,” Alan said, heartily, as he 
stood surveying the quaint, antique appointments 


256 the master of deepeawn 

of his room. “How can I entertain you at Deep- 
lawn after this? But remember, we Americans 
are only boys yet ; five hundred years hence we 
may have old houses, ghosts, traditions, and all.’’ 

“You have something vastly better than these 
now, grand-souled men and women, who come 
over here and stir us up as with a trumpet-call. 
We will gladly lend you our old houses and tradi- 
tions if you will help us with your noble work- 
ers.” 

“But none of you would care to go over there 
for life and leave behind you these treasures of by- 
gone days,” Alan said, a little sadly. “I mean 
those who own such things inherit them from 
long lines of vanished ancestors.” 

“One does get attached to such things; they 
pass down from father to son as much as the in- 
herited physical or moral traits ; but some do not 
seem to hold them very dear. Now and then a 
scion of our old nobility tries to escape from it 
all and plunges into frontier life in Australia, 
seeking to hide even his identity as he herds his 
sheep and cattle and looks in the rosy faces of his 
peasant boys and girls.” 

“ It is only our own sex that does that,” Alan 
said, taking up an ancient vase and examining it 
critically. 

The dinner bell rang, and they were forced to 
hurry with their limited toilets, else Mrs. Deems’ 


WYNDHURST 


257 


carefully prepared dinner might be spoiled. They 
retired early, after a brief hour or two spent in the 
library and a short stroll ; but when the morning 
broke Alan was astir. The views from those win- 
dows were so tantalizing that, leaving Lionel still 
sleeping, he had an hour’s walk in the park before 
breakfast, besides a glance at the “ Times” and 
his own mail, which had been forwarded. 

They had a busy and, to Alan, most enjoyable 
day. There was so much to see, the gathered 
treasures of so many years, the labor of so many 
busy and artistic hands. 

“What industrious creatures they were, and 
how painstaking ! ” Alan could not help exclaim- 
ing over and over again. “They shame us of the 
present day. We do our work by machinery. 
Only inventors and the artisans who put their 
inventions to practical use, do much real work.” 

“ They had so much more leisure time than we. 
Life was longer because there was not so much 
ground to be covered. It makes me feel like a 
pauper when I think what there is to be done 
now, and how little time we have to accomplish 
it,” Lionel said, with great regret to think that, 
with all his wealth, he was no richer in time than 
the humblest stable boy at Wyndhurst. In the 
portrait gallery Alan lingered a good while, and 
several times returned to study these faces, some 
of them with such marked characteristics. 

R 


258 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


“I can see your face here, or rather, I get 
glimpses of it now and again. Sometimes it looks 
out from a canvas centuries old. There is a 
strong individuality through all your family like- 
nesses.” 

Alan was standing before a full-length portrait 
of a Sir Charles Seymour, who had walked the 
stage of life some two hundred years before. 
Lionel, as he looked at his ancestor some five re- 
moves away, was also struck by a likeness to his 
own father. 

“I never noticed it before,” he said, with evi- 
dent pleasure. “ Our family history tells us he 
was one of the noblest in all our line.” 

Alan looked at it thoughtfully for a while, then 
turning to Lionel, he said : 

“It is enough to sober one when we think that 
our characters may affect those who come after ns 
centuries hence. I have had the curtain of futur- 
ity drawn back farther to-day than ever before, 
through these pictured faces looking at us out of 
the past. I do not wonder that you Englishmen 
rise to such levels when you have so much to up- 
lift you.” 

“We have some terribly poor specimens among 
our ancient families, I assure you.” 

“ Dame Nature takes a breathing spell once in a 
while ; she does not seem capable of heroic work 
for very long periods. I cannot help thinking so 


WYNDHURST 259 

now and then, when I see the bungling work she 
makes of some men and women.” 

“ That is shifting the responsibility from human 
shoulders, is it not?” Lionel asked. “Sometimes 
I am afraid it is man alone who does the bun- 
gling. We are all to blame. ” 

“ I try not to think that always. I see so many 
marred specimens, I try to believe that in some 
way, out of seeming ill, there will come ultimate 
good.” 

“ I see you are a student of Tennyson.” 

“ I am inclined to believe that our truest phi- 
losophy is taught by the poets ; theirs is nearest 
the prophetic office of any of our latter-day writ- 
ers. But let us come back to practical affairs. I 
want to look over your estate ; I may learn some- 
thing that will help me when I plant my Western 
colony.” 

They went out together, and for the rest of that 
day Alan was busy among ditches and plowmen, 
examining the appointments of the laborers’ cot- 
tages, and trying to learn everything that could 
possibly help him in the judicious planning of 
that promised experiment for the betterment of 
boys and girls of whose existence he was still 
ignorant. 


CHAPTER XXI 


WHITECHAPEL 


HEY returned to London on Saturday. They 



A were anxious to be together on the Sabbath 
at Westminster Abbey and in Whitechapel, for 
they had decided to take the two extremes of re- 


ligious service. 


A very eloquent divine was expected to preach 
in the morning in Westminster ‘Abbey. The 
afternoon was to be devoted entirely to slum 
work. Alan was better pleased to have the entire 
day occupied. He was strong-fibered enough to 
do his work without asking impatiently for the 
crowning blessing of every true man’s life, the 
love of the woman he fain would win. The visit 
to Wyndhurst had accentuated the differences 
between his life and Lucia’s. He was glad she 
was coming to America, but no stress of passionate 
affection would tempt him to tell her what she 
had unconsciously won. Perhaps it was better 
there should be obstacles in the way that could not 
be overcome, for his was but one life, his joy of 
heart a unit only among a hundred other hearts 
that he might make glad if he himself and his 
means were devoted solely to that work. 


WHITECHAPEI. 


261 


As they rode along, for they took the twenty 
miles back in the carriage, Lionel noticed Alan’s 
abstraction, and was pleased that he was leaving 
Wyndhurst with so much regret. ’ . 

“ We shall all be down here in the autumn, and 
you can stay a couple of weeks with us on your 
way to Oxford. We will start from America 
earlier in order to give you time.” 

“ Your visit there will be altogether too short 
to see all that is worth seeing. We must not on 
any account curtail that.” 

“ I want you to see Wyndhurst at its best. You 
have no idea what it is like when we are all there, 
with a house full of visitors. We have tennis and 
all sorts of games, driving, boating, and shooting. 
I tell you. Rivers, you have set me a hard task to 
leave it all for years, and perhaps for life, to bury 
myself in the heart of Africa or India.” 

“ I have not set you the task. My suggestion 
is worth nothing, unless another voice within you 
responds.” 

“ I am afraid that is where my trouble lies. 
Whether the voice is right or not, I cannot say ; 
but its call is the same as yours.” 

“ You must consult with your mother; I think 
her spiritual intuitions are finer than ours.” 

“ That will be putting her to a sore strait. Our 
English mothers have a very strong affection for 
their sons, especially only sons.” 


262 thk master of deeplawn 

When Lionel met his mother she chided him 
for loitering so 16ng at Wyndhurst. 

“ You must blame my friend Rivers, I believe 
he would exchange all the splendid future that 
his great western land offers him and become an 
English country gentleman. He is charmed with 
Wyndhurst. Every moss-grown stone from lintel 
to tower seemed precious to him.” 

Lady Seymour looked pleased. 

“You must see it under more favorable cir- 
cumstances. I was afraid you would find it very 
lonely.” 

“ I would rather not learn to like the place any 
better. It will be safer for me to avoid it in 
future.” 

“We cannot permit that. I hope to see you 
very frequently, both there and here in our town 
residence. Wyndhurst is home ; here we are only 
in residence. I have a fancy I should like to 
have a pleasant family group there, with Mr. 
Rivers to read to us as we sit at work. My 
daughters and I are doing some tapestries that 
our friends are kind enough to admire, and I 
should like to work in some figures to your read- 
ing from some favorite author. Very likely we 
should find a similarity of tastes also.” 

“ The picture you draw is very attractive. It 
will be a happy fancy with me to believe it may 
one day become a reality,” Alan said, with a 


WHITKCHAPEIv 


263 

sudden lighting of countenance. Why might he 
not sun himself in this woman’s rare kindliness? 
Surely he could remember at all times what was 
due himself and another. 

The remainder of the day passed only too 
swiftly. There was music, and a bit of choice 
reading too, for Tady Seymour divined that Alan 
had exceptional elocutionary powers, and soon they 
were by turns laughing and crying as he made 
selections from the various authors with whom he 
was intimately acquainted, and whose writings he 
found on the bookshelves around them. 

The next day they went in a body to West- 
minster Abbey. The preacher, who was a high 
dignitary in the church, was equal to their expec- 
tation. Alan wondered at his own exceeding 
content as he sat by Lucia during the service, 
accepting her help sometimes in following its 
intricacies. 

At luncheon Lionel expressed his regret that 
his mother was not well enough to accompany 
them on their rounds to mission halls and sick- 
beds. Lucia looked up eagerly : 

“May I not go in your stead, mamma? Mr. 
Rivers and Lionel will take good care of me.” 

Lionel joined his entreaties, but Alan was silent, 
his eyes bent steadily on his plate ; he was afraid 
to glance in her direction, lest she might too 
plainly read his wish. He did not know her lady- 


264 the master of deeplawn 

ship was waiting for him to speak. At last she 
said : 

“ If Mr. Rivers does not think it a trouble to 
have you. Remember, a young girl cannot make 
her way so easily as the gentlemen.” 

“We will promise to take the very best possible 
care of her if you will only trust her with us.” 
Alan tried to speak lightly, but his voice trembled 
with suppressed eagerness in spite of himself. 

“Then it is settled, little sister. Remember 
you must wear the very plainest hat and frock in 
your possession. If you can make that sacrifice 
we shall be delighted to have you.” 

“ I promise. You will scarcely know me when 
I appear dressed for the occasion. Mamma some- 
times lets me accompany her, and I know just 
what to wear,” she said to Alan, half fearing that 
he was still only partially willing to have her go. 

“Ivucia has half a mind to join the Salvation 
Army sometimes. Indeed she puzzles me with 
her changing fancies. One day she is a pro- 
nounced aristocrat, deeply in love with everything 
pertaining to the peerage and the old nobility ; 
the next thing I know she is ready to go out as a 
missionary, or to join the army workers in White- 
chapel. She really keeps us in a ferment with 
her varying moods,” Tady Seymour said, play- 
fully. 

L/Ucia lifted her eyes in times to catch a lumi- 


WHITECHAPEL 


265 

nous glance from Alan. Was it because she was 
sometimes willing to give herself to serve others 
that he looked at her in that way, she won- 
dered ? 

Without trying to defend herself, or in any way 
disclaim these varying moods, she presently ex- 
cused herself, and went to prepare for their round 
of mission halls and tenement visitations. 

When she returned in a serge suit that fitted 
like a glove, but was still a marvel of plainness, 
Alan wondered why womankind did not always 
dress in that way. L/ionel saw his intent look, 
and asked : 

“What do you think of our little missionary 
now? When she gets into that costume I am 
afraid her next step will be to take the veil, or 
enter one of our Church of England sisterhoods. 
She is just the one to go any length if she fancied 
duty called that way.” 

“ If my memory serves me it was only a few 
days ago you told me that nothing short of a 
dukedom would satisfy your sister’s antiquarian 
tastes,” Alan remarked, dryly. He was not look- 
ing at Eucia now, but was very intently studying 
a famous engraving that stood framed on an easel 
at his side. 

“That fancy passes away whenever she comes 
up to London, for it is the traditions and relics of 
Wyndhurst that stir it.” 


266 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

“Then I hope she will remain in London,” 
Alan said, impulsively. 

“Is it not time we were starting?’’ Tucia 
asked with heightened color. Something in 
Alan’s manner had quickened her pulse, and she 
did not in any case enjoy being the topic of re- 
mark. 

“We will order the carriage. You can ride 
most of the way,” I^ady Seymour said. 

“Please, mamma, let us take a tram and go 
like every-day workers. It seems like playing at 
mission work to go in that style,” Tucia pleaded, 
for the time forgetting her recent shyness. 

“Let me add my entreaties also,” Alan urged. 
There was something very delightful in the pros- 
pect of starting out like common folk, hailing a 
street car, and keeping Lucia under his care all 
the rest of the day. 

“Just as you please,” her ladyship said, gra- 
ciously ; “but I am sure you would be more com- 
fortable in our own carriage.” 

“ I do not feel one bit like a self-denying mission 
worker this afternoon,” Alan said, as they walked 
briskly along the aristocratic street a few moments 
later. 

“ But we shall do just as much good to those we 
go among as if we felt it a very heavy cross. I am 
sure if I lived in an attic, and was sick and alone, 
I should so much prefer bright, joyous faces to 


WHITECHAPEI^ 


267 

look in at me occasionally, than people who came 
just because their conscience drove them there.” 
lyucia seemed to have caught the infection of 
Alan’s fine spirits. 

“It does seem a pity for such a happy creature 
to be wasted on a duke, and spend her leisure 
time studying up his ancestors,” kionel said, mis- 
chievously, as he looked down into the smiling, 
happy face of his sister. 

“What do you mean, lyionel? I am not going 
to marry anybody. Please do not begin to tease, 
this perfect day,” she pleaded, gently. 

Alan forgave lyionel on the spot, for having 
drawn that assurance from his sister. 

They soon entered a car, which chanced to be 
a crowded one. Some one moved and gave lyucia 
a seat, while Alan stood guard over her, quite for- 
getting lyionel, who was standing by rather for- 
lornly. 

Arrived at the end of their journey by the car, 
they plunged at once into the depths, climbing 
rotten staircases, going down into gloomy cellars, 
and now and again finding a moment’s relief in 
some more humanized abode, where respectable 
poverty found shelter; but every place they en- 
tered lyUcia had visited before, and was welcomed 
by the poor creatures in a way that quite amazed 
Alan, who was unused to such demonstrations 
from the people in the districts he had visited. 


268 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


“Why do they all seem so glad to see you?” 
he asked. 

Ivionel answered for her. 

“They have keen instincts, if nothing else, and 
they know she loves them and pities them ; be- 
sides, she has been coming here since she was a 
child. Our mother had very peculiar ideas about 
the training of her children.” 

‘ ‘ Has your coming done them much good ? I 
noticed the whisky bottle in a good many places.” 
He spoke bluntly, but he too was in earnest about 
helping them, and had his peculiar ideas. 

“I sometimes tell mamma that it is little use 
helping them, for the money we give very often 
goes for gin ; but what can we do?” Tucia asked, 
helplessly. 

“ Perhaps you will try my plan. I never give 
such people a cent of money, except in the shape 
of food or clothing, but I try other methods.” 

“ What are they ? Pray advise us to some better 
plans than we have yet tried. I get sadly low- 
spirited after two or three hours spent here,” I^ucia 
said, wearily. 

“We will drop into the next mission chapel 
and rest. I promised your mother to take care of 
you, and I fear I am not keeping my promise,” 
Alan said, a little ruefully. 

They soon found seats in a quiet corner of a 
great, gloomy church that had stood facing the 


WHITECHAPEIv 


269 

sin and misery of this huge city for at least two 
centuries, and then Lucia repeated her request. 

Alan explained his methods fully. 

“ Let us coax mamma to try the same plan at 
Wyndhurst,” she exclaimed, eagerly. 

Lionel smiled. “What will our neighbors 
say?” he asked. 

‘ ‘ They can only say it is a new fad of Lady 
Seymour. You know people are continually say- 
ing that, and yet everybody admires and loves 
her.” 

“And if she did something that her conscience 
commanded, which they did not admire, what 
then?” Alan asked, soberly. 

“I think mamma is brave enough to dare public 
opinion in order to be true to principle.” 

They sat in silence for some time. Then a 
verger came to prepare the church for even-song, 
and the young people withdrew. 

‘‘What shall we do next?” Lionel asked. 

“Shall we not go to a mission service some- 
where? We need not make any more visits to- 
day. I have a fancy for sitting quietly and listen- 
ing to you talking to our people,” Lucia said, with 
a glance specially directed to Alan. Lionel’s de- 
scription of that service weeks ago, when Alan 
was talking to the crowd in one of the mission 
halls, was still fresh in her memory. 

“ Ladies are permitted the same privileges there 


270 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

with ourselves. In that respect mission work is 
a long way nearer a perfected and just civilization 
than the most decorous services. I too have a 
strong desire to hear a certain lady worker in these 
parts talk to the people.” Alan looked down at 
her for an instant. With a quick blush and 
nervous laugh she said : 

“ I am not clever like your brilliant American 
women. They set us a very beautiful example, 
but the most of us are either too slow or too dull 
to imitate them.” 

“ If you do not make the attempt you will 
never know what brilliant possibilities of speech 
may be slumbering within you.” 

They reached a mission hall where an unkempt 
crowd was gathering. Alan had often been there 
before, and some of the poor creatures were quick 
to recognize him, since several full and most en- 
joyable dinners had fallen to them through his 
generosity. The handshakings were hearty — per- 
haps a dinner might be provided that very night. 
Some of them were in sore need of it. The 
leader at once recognized the distinguished visit- 
ors and pressed anxiously forward. The speakers 
were few that day and of inferior quality ; if these 
young men could be pressed into the service, what 
had promised to be a very indifferent meeting 
might prove an unusual success. 

Tucia gratefully accepted the invitation to pre- 


WHITECHAPEL 


271 

side at the organ. Her nerves had been in a 
tremor ever since Alan suggested that she should 
give an address. She had found that he possessed 
a remarkable faculty for enforcing obedience to 
his behests — there was no knowing what she 
might be compelled to do if he said she had to 
address that blear-eyed, sodden crowd of men and 
women, but she could not well be musician and 
preacher too. He was standing near her keenly 
noting the fitful paling and flushing of the deli- 
cate face, afraid that they were overtaxing her 
strength, and yet dreading to break the spell of 
this dear companionship by returning to her 
home. 

“ Are you very tired ? ” he asked. 

She looked up for an instant, but her eyes sud- 
denly dropped beneath the expression in his which 
she scarcely interpreted. 

“ I am not tired, only afraid you will make me 
speak to them.” 

“I cannot make you unless you yourself are 
first willing.” 

“ If you told me to do so, I think I should have 
to obey. That is one of your characteristics, to 
enforce obedience.” 

“If so, I never knew it; but I should like to 

experiment ” He paused and did not finish 

what he was saying. 

The meeting began. A hymn was given out. 


2'J2 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

and as Lucia sang to her own accompaniment, it 
seemed as if the very breathing was hushed that 
not a note might be lost. Her excitement lent a 
pathos and power to her singing that surprised 
even Lionel, who had never heard her sing so ex- 
quisitely to the most critical and cultured audi- 
ences in the drawing-rooms in Mayfair, and the 
keynote was struck for the meeting that made it 
one of the best they had ever attended. 

Alan spoke after the leader had uttered a short 
prayer and Lucia had again poured forth her soul 
in glorious song. He too, had been lifted by it 
to a higher level than he had ever reached before 
when addressing any company, cultured or the 
reverse. He saw in the bowed heads before him 
and in the weeping faces of those unused to tears, 
that he was taking strong hold on his hearers. 
Indeed, for the time he forgot all save those whom 
he was seeking to help. When he had ceased 
speaking, he was amazed to find that others be- 
sides the crowd before him had been moved to 
tears. He looked at Lucia. She was finding it 
difficult to subdue her emotion sufficiently to be 
able to lead the singing. 

The leader hesitated. Perhaps now would be 
the time to test the depth of the impression. 
Stepping to the front of the platform he urged all 
who were willing to begin then and there to 
live a different life, a more rational and purer, to 



The Master of Deeplawn. 

“ Lucia again poured forth her soul in glorious song.” 


Page 272 





WHITKCHAPEL 


273 


come forward and kneel down in the front seats. 
One after another rose and stumbled forward. 
Lucia turned to the organ, and striking a few 
opening bars, began to sing with sweet pathos : 

“ There were ninety and nine that safely lay, 

In the shelter of the fold.” 

When she ceased singing nearly half the con- 
gregation were on their knees, Lionel and the 
others from the platform busy beside them talk- 
ing and praying, while sobs and groans attested 
to the depth of conviction that had settled on 
hitherto stony hearts. When the meeting was 
over and they were walking down the narrow, 
filthy street, Lionel said, enthusiastically : 

“ I believe that Lucia and you could do more to 
revolutionize this place, if you came here and 
worked together, than any score of workers com- 
bined, that are now on the ground. I tell you, 
splendid gifts will tell among all sorts and condi- 
tions of men.” 

“ I think I should like it better than marrying 
your duke,” Lucia said, mischievously, trying to 
make light of Lionel’s new enthusiasm, although 
her voice was still tremulous with strong emotion. 

“Oh, it will never do to let you marry any one 
after this. You have a vocation altogether differ- 
ent from wifehood. That would be a sad waste 
of useful gifts.” 

s 


274 master of deepeawn 

“Then you have decided I am to become a 
Salvationist? ” 

“I have not decided anything, but that the 
Lord will one day call you to account if you don’t 
throw yourself heart and soul into this work. 
Why, those few words you said near the close sent 
a thrill through the dullest heart there ; I had no 
idea my little sister had such possibilities hidden 
under this shy exterior.” 

For Lucia had spoken. Men and women in the 
audience, in broken sentences, had been telling 
what they were and what, God helping them, they 
wanted to be, when Alan, leaning toward her, 
had said: “Won’t yon say a few words to these 
women ? Most of them know who you are, and 
what you say will have more effect than all our 
preaching. ” 

She rose at once, and it was what she said that 
so wakened her brother’s enthusiasm. 

Alan was silent most of the way home. This 
afternoon’s service had suddenly opened new paths 
into the distance, ending only with life. Might 
this not be the kind of work God asked of him, 
to go down into the lowest depths seeking for 
gems for the Redeemer’s crown? He was so far 
indifferent to the ambitions of life now, that if the 
choice were left to him to work among the aristo- 
crats of the West End of London, in those superb 
churches where the beauty and wisdom of Eng- 


WHITKCHAPEL 


275 


land congregate, or in the malodorous precincts 
of Whitechapel, he would not choose, leaving 
that decision, as every other that had to do with 
other lives than his own, in the hands of the One 
whose wisdom is unerring. 

“ I wish you could transfer yourself from 
America to London,” Lionel said. 

“My dear boy, we have just as much need of 
workers in our great cities in America as you 
have here. What we all need is a fuller consecra- 
tion.” 

When they met Lady Seymour at dinner that 
evening, Lionel gave a graphic description of 
their afternoon’s work, ending with the crowning 
success in the mission hall. 

“ My dear child,” Lady Seymour said, her eyes 
bright with tears, “that charms me more than 
the highest social triumphs that you could win.” 

“ But, mamma, Lionel greatly exaggerates. It 
was only a few very simple words that I spoke. 
No one could help saying something after Mr. 
Rivers’ wonderful address. I wish so much that 
you could have heard it.” 

‘ ‘ Perhaps we had better postpone the discus- 
sion of our oratorical efforts to some future time.” 
Alan spoke impulsively, and later, as he was 
standing near Lucia, somewhat apart from the 
rest, he asked her forgiveness for any apparent 
discourtesy in his remarks. “ I have such a hor- 


276 the master of deeplawn 

ror of taking credit for any of these efforts to 
myself. I want to forget my own individuality 
in any work I may do.” 

lyucia looked up sympathetically. 

“I think you need never ask my forgiveness 
for anything you may say. I shall always know 
you are right even if I do not quite comprehend 
your meaning. But this evening I quite sympa- 
thized with you after the very exaggerated way 
lyionel spoke about myself.” 

“ I am afraid if we discuss that subject again I 
may offend as much as your brother. I felt the 
charm of your address more than any one there, 
I am certain.” 

She looked somewhat surprised. 

“I do not understand why anything I said 
should touch you. It was only the poor, sinful 
creatures that I thought to help.” 

He looked at her a moment very intently, then 
glancing at Lady Seymour, who was coming 
toward them, he said, quietly : 

“ I shall hope to hear you talk to my boys this 
summer. I am expecting great things from that 
promised visit.” 

“ We are also looking forward with great pleas- 
ure to our American trip. It seems hard that 
some of us should have so many delightful expe- 
riences in this world, and others none at all. I 
try to believe that there is a law of compensation 


WHITECHAPEL 


277 


running through all human experience, and that, 
underlying all apparent joy or misery, there are 
peaceful spots in every heart. ‘Not one quite 
happy, no, not one,’ your lyongfellow says. But 
I say to myself, not one quite wretched, no, not 
one, save the utterly depraved — they must, of ne- 
cessity, be unhappy, whether in a palace or the 
worst cellar in Whitechapel.” 

“ Your daughter takes the griefs of her fellow- 
creatures very seriously,” Alan said, turning to 
Lady Seymour, who had joined them. 

“ Yes, but she takes their pleasures so joyously 
1 think she gets more good than ill from making 
her heart a thoroughfare for the friendless, and 
indeed, all who come within her horizons. I 
assure you, they are very wide.” 

‘‘ How could I help it, mamma, being your 
daughter ? ” 

“ My children are perpetually turning the tables 
upon me whenever I mention their good qualities ; 
but a truce to that now. Sir Thomas has bidden 
me ask Mr. Rivers to give us a reading. He 
wishes to hear you read from some of your own 
American poets. I believe he has Thanatopsis 
turned down for you to begin with.” 

Alan complied at once, and the remainder of 
the evening was spent in reading selections from 
the poets of the nineteenth century, with discus- 
sion of their comparative merits. 


CHAPTER XXII 


IN SUMMER TIME 


ARIvY in the week Alan and Lionel left 



for Queenstown to take the steamer for 
America. 

The season being favorable, they had a fine trip 
across the ocean. The tide of travel among 
saloon passengers being 'mainly eastward at that 
season, they were not inconvenienced by the 
throngs that, later on, make sailing to the west 
anything but a pleasure to those who do not enjoy 
being closely herded with a crowd of indifferent 
strangers. 

On their arrival they proceeded at once to 
Deeplawn. Mrs. Dixon had been apprised of the 
coming of a distinguished visitor, and great prep- 
arations had been made, while all the boys were 
pressed into the service to put the entire premises 
in most perfect order. Among the score of youths 
now under Alan’s care, there were only some half- 
dozen of the original thirteen. Several of the 
boys were studying for a higher kind of work 
than that of farm laborers, while others stoutly 
preferred the abundant elbow-room of farm work 
to the crowded foothold brain-workers of average 


278 


IN SUMMER TIME 


279 


ability find anywhere at the present day. The 
youths who preferred farm work were, without 
exception, of Irish extraction, and it devolved on 
them to contribute largely to the support of the 
entire company. 

Alan, as far as was possible, wished to make this 
experiment self-supporting, and to this end he had 
large tracts of waste land reclaimed and brought 
into profitable cultivation. During the vacations 
the entire force of boys were expected to assist. 
An experienced man took charge and mapped out 
the work. The boys entered into it, for the most 
part, with great heartiness, and those summer ex- 
peditions into the woods, felling trees and piling 
the great logs in heaps for the autumn burning, 
were seasons of genuine merriment and healthful 
enjoyment. 

The man who had them in charge had himself 
been on the Deeplawn estate from childhood, and 
took quite as much interest in all that pertained 
to it as did the rightful owner. James Longman, 
for that was his name, was quite an unconscious 
hero. He was so thoroughly honest, his name 
was already, at middle age, becoming a synonym 
for honesty. He really did not seem to study his 
own dignity any more than the huge Clydesdales, 
that found in him a perfect master. For every one, 
man, woman, or child, of whatever degree socially, 
he had the same reverential bearing, as if human- 


2So THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

ity under every circumstance was something to 
honor. 

He was not a stickler for obedience, yet the 
boys who worked under him never seemed to 
think of disobeying. iVlan regarded him almost 
as a brother, and Deeplawn, and all that pertained 
to it, was gradually coming under his sole charge. 
A loud or angry word never fell from his lips, 
but when his slow temper was aroused by some 
exceeding offense, the lad who had incurred his 
displeasure was sure to remember the occasion. 

He helped the lads to select their own holdings, 
for to each who chose to stay at Deeplawn until 
his majority, a portion of land was given suffi- 
cient to make him a home. Longman was au- 
thorized to purchase all available lands that were 
in the market, and so judiciously were the invest- 
ments made and the land cultivated, that already 
the experiment had ceased to be a risk. 

If Alan had been charmed with the treasures 
and memories connected with Wyndhurst, Lionel 
was no less so with Deeplawn. The boys had 
come en masse to the station to meet Alan, headed 
by Mike, who had come to Deeplawn for the oc- 
casion. Anselmo was also there, and Jacob Mo- 
lensky and Billy Spenser and Blinders, for he had 
found his way to the country with all the others ; 
but they did not present the same appearance as 
when first we were introduced to them. 


IN SUMMER TIME 


281 

Those who were with Alan at the first were 
now grown men, or nearly such. Mike was a 
fine-looking young fellow, with an impulsive, 
open-hearted expression on his mobile face. He 
was quite elaborately dressed, even to brown kids 
and white cravat, and seemed perfectly conscious 
of the fact. Indeed, each one had strained every 
nerve to present a good appearance for Mr. Rivers’ 
home-coming, since they felt perfectly certain 
that it rested mainly with them to reflect credit 
on him before his foreign visitor. 

Alan and Lionel were confronted with quite a 
formidable array when they stepped off the car. 
Nearly every tenant at Deeplawn was there to 
welcome the young master. The score and more 
of representatives from the city, headed by Long- 
man, beaming approval from his superior height, 
were all elbowing their way to the front. A goodly 
number of women and children formed the rear 
of the company. 

Lionel stood in considerable mystification watch- 
ing the eager company thronging around his 
friend, and wondered if this were a usual custom 
among Americans. He had supposed it was 
mainly an English usage, the welcoming home 
of the heir on his majority, but that period in his 
friend’s life was some time past. It certainly 
could only be an expression of strong affection 
between employer and employed. 


282 the master of DEEPEAWN 

The handshakings ended, Alan summoned his 
friend and together they entered the carriage 
awaiting them. At the Deeplawn gates they 
found a triumphal arch erected, the work of the 
boys who had known of similar ornamentation for 
grand processions or in honor of distinguished 
guests, usually foreign royalties. 

“ Upon my word, I was not expecting such an 
ovation. It certainly seems as though I had found 
the key to my boys’ hearts, or they would not go 
to such trouble in my honor,” Alan said, with 
considerable feeling. 

“ Is it the work of your boys from the slums? ” 
Uionel asked, with some surprise. 

“Certainly. Did you not see them, those 
young fellows gotten up with such care ? — a tall, 
broad-shouldered fellow heading the ranks?” 

“Yes, I saw them, but it did not occur to me 
those were your waifs and strays.” 

“ I shall make a formal presentation when we 
reach home. You will be surprised to see what 
well-spoken youths they are. My friends tell me 
they all try to imitate my way of speaking — pray 
do not think that is why they speak well ; but if 
you had heard them five or six years ago, their 
slang and broken English, you would understand 
better what imitative creatures they are when 
their minds are set on improving themselves.” 

A little later the boys came filing into the 


IN SUMMER TIME 


283 

library, as respectable looking youths as one might 
expect to see in a boys’ academy, and 'as well con- 
ducted. Mike was their principal speaker, and very 
well he filled the office, in an easy but respectful 
way telling all the news that Alan would be likely 
to want, and arranging excursions to the different 
points on the estate where extensive alterations 
had of late been made. He had obtained a few 
holidays on purpose to be with Alan and, like the 
others, was prepared to enjoy them to the utmost. 

Lionel was a most interested spectator. Cer- 
tainly here was something quite beyond Alan’s 
modest representations of his work for boys. He 
resolved to introduce something of the kind at 
Wyndhurst that very autumn. Perhaps God 
might intend that work for him rather than ban- 
ishment from the home and friends he loved so 
well. Others too, among the great landed gentry 
and aristocracy might be induced to work in the 
same way. 

How soon England might be revolutionized if 
men of wealth would turn their attention thereto ! 
In a little while they might become just as much 
interested as in their present pursuits, experi- 
encing noble rivalries in rescuing the largest num- 
ber of waifs and strays, and building them into 
noble men and women. Alan certainly found 
more solid pleasure in these boys, their ambitions, 
successes, and general growth, than any landed 


284 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


owner of the fine preserves he knew. When the 
boys decorously withdrew, Lionel plunged at 
once into his plans. 

“ My mother, I am sure, will go into it heart 
and soul, and whatever she suggests my father 
hastens to put in practice, no matter how Quixotic 
her scheme may appear to the rest of us. I want 
you to invite every one of your boys and young 
men here when she comes, and make the best 
possible showing. If we get her enthusiastic, 
there is no knowing where it may end. Why, 
my dear fellow, you may accomplish more for the 
submerged of London, through your example, 
than almost any man in England, perhaps except- 
ing three or four, Muller, Bernardo, Stephenson, 
and a few like-minded.’’ 

“ I am not so enthusiastic as you are ; indeed, 
I try not to think about possibilities, but practi- 
calities. You will find very few of the country 
squires, or landed gentry, ready to try the experi- 
ment with even half a dozen pauper boys.” 

“You do not know what persuasive powers my 
mother possesses. We will get our establishment 
well started at Wyndhurst, Lucia will design 
some picturesque costume for them, and then my 
mother will invite some of her dear friends, be- 
ginning probably with sorue wealthy nobodies 
who will be thankful to do anything Lady Sey- 
mour suggests, and then on among her dear five 


IN SUMMER TIME 


285 


hundred friends, for I think she must have that 
many ready to do her bidding to any reasonable 
extent, and so the work will grow.” 

“ I will be glad if your prophecies have even a 
partial fulfillment.” 

“ And now you will no doubt admit that I may 
have a very useful career before me, without being 
obliged to leave my native land,” kionel said, 
lightly. 

“ I most assuredly will. We need home mis- 
sionaries quite as much as foreign, and I cannot 
conceive any work with grander possibilities than 
that you have just been mapping out.” 

“ That is a relief, I can assure you. I doubt if 
the Lord ever calls any one to some special mis- 
sion without giving him special delight in his 
appointed work, and I certainly -did not have that 
in the mission you proposed.” 

“ I only want that you should engage heartily 
in some work. It was dilettanteism in religion 
that I was trying to get you to avoid ; we have 
too much of that in the churches for their own 
prosperity or the world’s good.” 

After dinner the young men went to see the 
boys in their quarters. Several cottages had been 
appropriated to their use, and the boys did all their 
own work, taking week about in the kitchen. A 
generous rivalry was fostered among them, encour- 
aged by James Longman, as to who should prove 


286 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

the best housekeeper. Small prizes were awarded 
the happy youths who developed a latent talent 
for tidiness and thrift. The cottages now were 
scoured to an exquisite degree of cleanliness. 

The efforts at ornamentation were occasionally 
ludicrous and even grotesque. The artistic Italian 
and the heavy German tastes at war with Irish 
and American, sometimes produced strange com- 
binations, but Alan was pleased with it all and 
was ready to reward every one alike. He went 
deeper than the mere disposal of chromos, vases, 
home-made brackets, and the like. Underneath 
all this he saw the love of beauty and of home 
budding in the youthful hearts, some day to blos- 
som out in brown-stone fronts, possibly, velvet 
carpets and costly pictures, for no one could tell 
what successes might be waiting in the future for 
some of the lads preparing for lives of usefulness 
in these cottages. 

It was quite dark before they had completed the 
survey of the nearest cottages. Lionel went 
home to dream all night of just such homes 
springing like magic all over England, for boys 
and for girls too, for he, with his mother’s love for 
girls as well as boys fresh upon him, wanted to 
see them, equally with their brothers, provided 
with these opportunities to rise. 

The following day he wrote many pages to his 
mother filled with this new project, and urging 


IN SUMMER TIME 287 

her to come over at once if the doctors would 
permit. 

“You can rest and build up here better than at 
home, for the air is fairly intoxicating. I do not 
wonder the Americans are so clever, having such 
an atmosphere and such a wonderful country. I 
am curious to know what this country will be five 
hundred or a thousand years hence, if it goes on 
developing at the present rate. I only know the 
lost Eden might be pretty well restored, save for 
the item death, if all mankind were like Alan 

Rivers. I tell you, mother, he is a hero ” 

and then followed a glowing rhapsody that would 
have disconcerted Alan had he seen it. But Alan 
did not know what his friend was putting on 
paper, as he went about with Longman, examin- 
ing things with the keen, observing eye of the 
master who wanted every bit of property to yield 
its full value. 

They rested a few days at Deeplawn, and then 
started on their pedestrian tour. Lionel had told 
Alan that he had been urging his mother to come 
at once, and Alan was anxious that his friend 
should first see more of the country he was dis- 
posed to admire so much. They took short rail- 
way journeys from one point to another over the 
parts that had seemingly been slighted in the 
work of creation, and in this way condensed the 
beauties of the scenery. They had soon taken 


288 the master of deepeawn 

quite an extensive view of the New England 
States, and then Alan felt it necessary to return to 
Deeplawn. Leaving Lionel to continue his wan- 
derings alone, chiefly now among the cities of the 
Southern and Middle States, he returned home. 

He 'was anxious to be with the boys, to arrange 
for their education or the putting to trades of those 
who elected to do work of that kind. He trusted 
much to Longman’s judgment in deciding each 
boy’s special aptitude for brain or manual labor, 
and the trade in which each would be most likely 
to excel. 

The few following weeks were very busy ones 
indeed. Several of his boys were now old enough 
to be apprenticed, others were prepared to take 
positions as bookkeepers or salesmen, while two 
or three were eager for professional careers. For 
these he wished to obtain situations as teachers, 
for it was not Alan’s idea to help any of them 
further than was really necessary. It might take 
a few more years for them to fit themselves for 
their life-work ; but that counted for little in his 
estimation, compared with what the means saved 
to him might do for others. 

Their numbers he found would be reduced by 
these changes one half. This permitted him to 
take into the cottages, and under Longman’s care, 
as many more boys from the congested streets of 
the city. In deference to Lionel’s request, he de- 


IN SUMMER TIME 


289 


cided to let the departing boys remain until Lady 
Seymour’s arrival. New importations would not 
give her an idea of the work accomplished, but 
the improvement in those who had spent some 
time at Deeplawn might better be perceived if a 
few raw recruits were also imported just before 
she was expected. 

With this end in view he went to Providence 
and made his selection, a few days before the 
steamship on which Lady Seymour was expected 
was due. Lionel met him in the city, and together 
they visited those dolorous tenements for the 
youths whose futures were to be revolutionized. 
A hard task it was to make the selection. Alan 
wanted the very friendless, but there was so large 
a supply of these, the trouble was to decide whose 
need was the greatest. 


T 


CHAPTER XXIII 


PEERESS AND PAUPERS 
HEY all, peeress and paupers, went to Deep- 



J- lawn by the same train. Alan had a large- 
minded way of combining things, and it seemed 
to him perfectly proper that they should arrive 
together, although he did so far preserve the pro- 
prieties as not to take his waifs into the Pullman 
car with Lady Seymour and her daughters. She 
had a glimpse, however, of her host piloting his 
six shabby followers into another car. A very 
sorry-looking half-dozen youths they were, some 
of them coatless and all barefoot, with grimy 
faces and unkempt hair. But there was a look of 
great satisfaction, on each pinched face, for Deep- 
lawn, the land of plenty, and Alan Rivers, were 
subjects frequently discussed in that section of 
the city where they had been wont to burrow. 

Her journey ended. Lady Seymour found her- 
self too much fatigued for any farther sight-seeing 
that day, but Lucia was eager to begin the inspec- 
tion of cottages and boys at once. She and Alan 
started out together, her dainty gown and sweet 
face making a very pretty picture, so thought the 
lads who were watching for her. 


PEERESS AND PAUPERS 


291 


They were quite as eager for the interview as 
the young lady, and had donned their Sunday 
best for the occasion, while those fresh from the 
city slums looked on brothers and acquaintances 
with a mixture of envy and expectation. Before 
long, they too would be relieved of their rags and 
provided with good clothes. Mike was again on 
hand, and Anselmo had come on purpose to meet 
Tady Seymour. Both were old enough to wonder 
if this pure-faced girl might not some day become 
mistress of Deeplawn. 

Lucia entered heartily into all the details as 
Alan explained them, examining the .boys’ con- 
trivances for comfort and ornamentation in the 
different cottages and making suggestions that 
filled Alan and his boys with wonder at their own 
stupidity in not thinking before of such simple 
additions to their household arrangements. 

“ Indeed, ma’am, Mr. Rivers is needing a bet- 
ter woman to look after them here than Mrs. 
Dixon. She’s all very well for the butter and 
preserves, but you have helped the boys more with 
advice in two hours than she has in all the years 
since we came here,” Mike said admiringly 
when, the survey ended, they sat chatting in the 
cottage where Mike was staying. His own brother 
was one of the housekeepers, a promising boy, 
who one day might be an alderman, so bent was 
he on becoming a lawyer. 


292 the master of DEEPEAWN 

Alan cast a quick look into Lucia’s face and 
saw the deepening color in the dimpled cheek, for 
she was smiling in response to Mike’s suggestion. 

“ Mamma will be able to help you much more 
than I. She will be charmed too, I know. My 
brother’s description, which we thought exagger- 
ated, did not half convey how delightful it all 
seems. We were inclined to be amused at the 
boys’ housekeeping, and fancied it was masculine 
ignorance of domestic details, rather than the 
boys’ skill that made Lionel so easily satisfied.” 

‘ ‘ The boys do wonders, considering they never 
had any experience of what homes should look 
like until they came here. Dingwell’s mother and 
sisters have helped a good deal, but their taste is 
none of the best in hanging pictures and fixing 
up a room according as I see houses fixed,” Mike 
said, while he critically examined the ornamenta- 
tion of the little parlor. 

“ Shall we hang these pictures over again, and 
may I arrange the ornaments?” Lucia asked, 
timidly. 

“We’ll be delighted, ma’am, if you will,” a 
freckle-faced boy responded, who was housekeeper 
that week, and could therefore speak with author- 
ity. 

“Permit me to be your assistant,” Alan said, 
as he rose ready to obey her commands. 

She gave the word for all of the pictures to 


PEERESS AND PAUPERS 


293 


come down, and then with a pretty air of anxiety 
she began studying effects, in which she appealed 
to Alan for advice. They became so absorbed in 
the work that Lionel came to see what had be- 
come of them while yet the task was unfinished. 
He failed to discover which seemed to be enjoying 
the work most, the boys or the picture hangers. 
Gradually the lads from the nearer cottages heard 
what was going on, and through doorways and 
windows were watching every graceful movement 
of the young lady from over the sea, while they 
exchanged whispered confidences, comparing her 
beauty with the “ swell ” young ladies they had 
sometimes brushed against on the crowded city 
thoroughfares. It is needless to say Lucia tri- 
umphed in the decisions. 

The following day Lady Seymour announced 
herself able to make the round of cottages. The 
carriage was brought and the party proceeded first 
to the farthest cottage, some three miles away. 
Alan, after mature deliberation, had, in the be- 
ginning of his experiment, decided it the safer 
plan to have the boys as widely separated as pos- 
sible. There were three cottages near to Deep- 
lawn and two at the opposite extremes of his prop- 
erty. He preferred to have the larger number 
under Longman’s immediate care, and these were 
a judicious mixture of good and bad. 

At the first cottage they visited, Jacob Molensky 


294 MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

was housekeeper for that week. His gifts in that 
direction were not well developed, if indeed he 
had any, but the other boys had come to the res- 
cue, so that the house presented a fairly neat ap- 
pearance. The outside of the cottage, however, 
was a perfect bower of beauty. Creeping vines 
had already climbed well up toward the eaves, 
while flowers brightened every available spot. 

The vegetable garden was a marvel of neatness, 
for this had been undertaken by one lad, an 
American of Scotch extraction, whose ancestors 
had been under-gardeners on a great Scottish es- 
tate for generations. But “ unmerciful disaster ” 
had reduced Donald’s family to a filthy tenement. 
From that unsavory quarter he had been trans- 
planted two summers before to this happy home, 
and here he had determined to live and die, the 
instinct of localizing his habitation being strong 
within him. 

The boys had felt they should extend some hos- 
pitality to their visitors more than seating them 
in the little parlor, so each one of the five had en- 
deavored to do something to show his apprecia- 
tion of the honor conferred. Huge bouquets of 
flowers had been gathered and tied up ready to 
present at departure. Fine blackberries and 
cream were standing ready in the milk room 
down cellar, and the seldoin-used teapot had been 
washed and scalded ready to brew a cup of tea for 


PEERESS AND PAUPERS 


295 


her ladyship. Tliis was Jacob’s special work, and 
he was speculating anxiously how he was to con- 
vey his cups and saucers in correct form to the 
waiting hands. On the whole the boys conducted 
themselves with Very good taste, and were proud 
of the favor shown their refreshments. 

Ivady Seymour’s eyes bore suspicious signs of 
tears as she sat talking with the boys, drawing 
from them the story of their former lives and the 
satisfaction with which they looked upon their 
present surroundings. They were all surprised 
afterward as they carefully recalled the different 
incidents of the interview, at the ease with which 
they had conversed with her ladyship. Jacob felt 
considerable chagrin when he was told that he 
always addressed her as “ Your honor” ; but this, 
they assured him, was a trifling mistake, and she 
would be sure to know he meant no offense. 
When she was leaving she asked Alan’s permis- 
sion to invite them all to Deeplawn to a reception 
the following week, a request readily granted, of 
course. What speculating there was about that 
reception, how they were to conduct themselves, 
and what they would have to eat, while the dic- 
tionary was consulted to find out what it meant ! 

The party missed luncheon that day, but they 
had such abundant supplies of fruit and cream 
and very strong tea, that they forgot all about it 
until they came home late in the afternoon and 


296 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

met Mrs. Dixon anxiously waiting for them and 
inwardly fretting over her spoiled fowls and ices. 
At every cottage the desire to be hospitable was 
manifest. As each one had its own berry patch, and 
as the boys were not fertile in culinary expedients 
the menu was somewhat monotonous. However, 
at the cottage where Mike was stopping, were 
some fine pear-trees, and their fruit was served 
with very thin slices of buttered bread. 

The invitation to the reception was extended 
to all the boys, including the six who had just 
come. Lady Seymour’s eyes filled with tears 
when the little fellows came filing in with clean, 
smiling faces, and flapping rags. 

“Yer needn’t feel sorry for us, ma’am; we’re 
jest as happy as us can be out here,” one of them 
said. It seemed to his happy heart such an utter 
waste of pity for any one to be shedding tears 
over him. “ If yer could see where we hev been 
and what we had to eat, yer might cry,” he added 
presently, when he saw the tears still flowing. 

“ Mout yer please to tell her we don’t want fer 
nothin’ now,” he appealed to Alan. 

“ She knows that, Sammy, but she thinks of the 
thousands of other little lads who are not so well 
off as you.” 

“ Is that all the boy she’s got ? ” Sammy looked 
up inquiringly at the stalwart young man whom 
he had -heard address the lady as “ mother. ” 


PEERESS AND PAUPERS 


297 


‘‘Yes.” 

“ Maybe then, if she’s rich, she’d take some 
boys herself.” 

“ That is a splendid suggestion, my brave young 
man,” Tionel said, approvingly. 

Sammy looked very self-conscious and proud at 
this, but retired into the background, taking his 
picturesque tatters quite out of Lady Seymour’s 
range of vision. 

The other boys were rather inclined to chide 
Sammy, but as the young gentleman evidently 
approved of his suggestion, they concluded it was 
not necessary. Besides, they were so interested in 
Lady Seymour, feeling even in their skeptical 
young hearts the touch of a sympathy having 
something of the Divine, that when she left them 
they were in the mood for only the most benevo- 
lent reflections. 

What a happy day it was to them all, as well as 
proud ! To think they had been privileged to 
entertain a real noble lady, to have her eat and 
drink out of their own dishes, and talk to them 
more tenderly than had any other woman ! Her 
graciousness had given them a glimpse of the per- 
fection possible in women. From their experi- 
ences of the sex in general in their homes, and 
with Mrs. Dixon in particular, they had not 
formed a very exalted estimate of womanly char- 
acter. Mr. Rivers, in their estimation, possessed 


298 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


greater excellence than all the women in the 
world combined. Mike, and Anselmo, and a few 
others who had found good homes where pure, 
high-minded women presided, of course, had quite 
different views, but it had never occurred to them 
to express them in any of their conferences. 

The two young ladies also received a good share 
of friendly criticism. The boys shrewdly divined 
that it was altogether probable, if Mr. Rivers 
could accomplish it, that the elder daughter, who 
had such sweet, homelike ways, would one day 
preside as mistress at Deeplawn. 

The Dingwells were as interested in the visitors 
as any of the boys, and Dandy carried home to 
them minute particulars of all that was occurring. 
He had grown to be a fine, healthy young fellow, 
with a set purpose to be a farmer and nothing 
but a farmer ; a decision that exactly suited his 
mother. Mike made frequent visits to their cot- 
tage ; indeed, no place in the world seemed quite 
such a happy spot as the small parlor where he and 
Allie Dingwell, the eldest of the widow’s daughters, 
made plans for a life-long journey together. 

The day of the reception had come at last, and 
at one o’clock the boys began to arrive with faces 
shining from a generous polishing, but expressive 
of some anxiety, for with all their acquirements 
they felt very ignorant of the etiquette proper for 
receptions and the society of ladies. 


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Page 299. 


The Master of Deeplawn. 

“ The day of the reception had come at last.” 



PEERESS AND PAUPERS 


299 


When they reached the lawn they found that 
imposing preparations had been made there. A 
pretty booth had been erected just in front of the 
largest fountain. At one end a table was laid for 
their refection, with such a repast as they had not 
seen before : frosted cakes, cold fowl, jellies, 
salads, fruits, and ices. 

“My sakes, but isn’t that grand !’^ Sammy 
ejaculated. He was the self-appointed spokesman 
of the last arrivals, and as each one was rejoicing 
in a new suit of clothes, he felt more eloquent 
than ever. But the work of demolishing those 
delicacies was not to begin for some time ; other 
and more surprising duties were on the pro- 
gramme. 

Lady Seymour was dressed with great taste 
and care in a rich velvet gown with exquisite lace, 
and diamonds that gleamed like stars. The lads 
wondered if the angels could look much more 
beautiful than this lovely woman with the tender 
face and gentle voice that seemed really to caress 
them with its lingering accents. Her daughters 
were gay in simple but silken gowns with falls of 
lace, and brightened with natural flowers. 

Mrs. Dixon walked grimly about, thinking what 
a melancholy waste it was to bestow all that elabo- 
rate cooking on a parcel of boys no better, for the 
most part, than so many beggars. The new-fan- 
gled cook and his assistant, imported by Alan 


300 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

from Boston before his visitors came, kept her 
feelings in constant commotion. She had never 
seen or heard of such messes as they concocted 
day after day, and held herself aloof from so much 
as tasting his compounds ; but Alan was provok- 
ingly indifferent to her sentiments, so she had to 
nurse her wrath in silence. 

The piano had been wheeled out on one of the 
piazzas, and the lads had been invited to bring all 
their instruments of music, and as an audience 
generally takes more interest in a programme when 
they are expecting to take some part, so the boys 
eagerly looked forward to this as a means of dis- 
tinguishing themselves. Tike amateurs in gen- 
eral, they regarded their performance as the spe- 
cial feature of the occasion. 

There was no public speech-making. Tady 
Seymour secured little bits of conversation, as 
opportunity offered, with one and another, apart 
from the rest. Afterward, some of the lads were 
considerably exercised over the fact that they had 
confessed as fully their most secret and cherished 
plans to her ladyship, as they did long ago to the 
priests in the narrow confessionals, whither they 
tremblingly went for that special purpose. 

Mike drew Alan to one side at last and asked : 

“ Are there any more women in the world like 
that lady and her daughters? ” 

“ Probably there are,” was the smiling answer. 


PEERESS AND PAUPERS 301 

“Well, for my part, I didn’t think they could 
ever be made so good. Why one wouldn’t think 
they were made out of the same kind of stuff as 
our folks ; now do you really think they are?” 

“Yes, I really think they are, strange as it 
seems.” 

“ Do you think we can be as good when we die ? 
Not but you may be now — only women have a 
charm about their goodness that the best of men 
don’t have. It’s wonderful what they are like.” 

Alan glanced at lyucia standing by the youth- 
ful Sammy, listening with happy, smiling face to 
his remarks. 

“ Yes, Mike, it is wonderful, as we sometimes find 
to our cost.” 

“ I’d rather like one of that kind, if I never did 
have the chance to marry her, than any other 
kind.” Mike had for some days had his suspi- 
cions, and tried to give his word of consolation. 

“ And I would rather not.” Alan turned away 
abruptly. He did not care to discuss this subject 
with any one, but he would as soon speak of it to 
Mike as any one in the world. He had no truer 
friend, he well knew, since Mr. Dolliver was 
peacefully sleeping in the churchyard, than this 
Irish lad. He inwardly resented being so taken 
possession of by another — his self-poise and calm- 
ness of spirit utterly broken ; but he found himself 
powerless to shake off the glamour that was upon 


302 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

him. Would it always be so ? Was it necessary ? 
These were the questions constantly repeated, yet 
unanswered. 

L/Ucia had promised him to play and sing for 
the boys. They were perspiring now from their 
own vigorous efforts in making melody. Some 
of them were very fair musicians, but it was very 
crude at the best, and somehow Alan felt that he 
deserved some solace. He interrupted the inter- 
view between her and Sammy, the latter stepping 
proudly away, for had the young lady not com- 
plimented him on his fine appearance? 

“ I think my turn has come now,” he said, look- 
ing at the lovely face turned toward him. 

“ In what way ? ” 

“ Ah ! that is the question I would like to have 
you answer.” 

“ I will answer it if you will explain more fully 
what you want.” 

Then she might have read a different answer in 
his eyes, but he said only, “You promised me 
some music.” 

“Is that all?” There was a touch of disap- 
pointment in her voice. 

“ Would you have me ask for anything greater?” 
There was a quiver of excitement in his voice 
which he failed to steady. 

“I will give you the music.” She spoke 
timidly, with a heightened color, and went 


PEERESS AND PAUPERS 


303 


quickly to the piano. The boys came trooping 
around while Alan stood apart, listening to every 
note, yet scarcely enjoying the music that was 
sending thrills of rapture through Anselmo’s heart 
and softening his face until he looked as gentle 
as the musician herself. 

“Isn’t it heavenly!” The young fellow ad- 
dressed no one in particular, but the youthful 
Sammy was on hand and responded unctuously : 

“The angels couldn’t better it, I guess.” 

Mrs, Dixon came to Alan presently. She 
looked worried. 

‘ ‘ That man-cook of yours says the ices ought 
to be eat at once or they’ll all be melted.” 

” Very well, you can give the signal.” 

Mrs. Dixon had very little ear for music, but 
great care for the practical side of life, hence she 
had no scruples about giving the signal that drew 
most of the boys from the piano. 

“ It seems a pity, miss, to interrupt you, but the 
victuals must be eat or some of them will spoil.” 

Lucia smiled graciously into the perturbed 
countenance of the housekeeper. 

“ I am sure the boys will enjoy keeping the 
food from spoiling much more than listening to 
music.” 

“ Yes, indeed, they are terrible hungry fellows. 
Mr. Rivers needs a deep pocket to bear such heavy 
expense.” 


304 the master of deepeawn 

‘‘And a large heart also.” 

“ Oh, yes ; but he’s got that anyway more than 
most people. We’ve never seen his like in these 
parts ; but I’m told that over the sea you have 
some very benevolent people.” 

“Not many like him, I fear.” 

“Well, I’d sooner he’d be a little more like 
other folks in some things ; though I’d not like to 
see him change, for, with the exception of giving 
so much away to poor creatures, I guess he’s 
about as perfect as any one I ever saw. You can’t 
tell anything about him, seeing him just when 
it’s all plain sailing, but there’s been times in his 
life when he’s minded me more of the Lord Jesus 
than any one I’ve ever heard about. It’s just 
wonderful that a boy with no more chances than 
he’s had to be one of the high kind of Christians 
should be so good. I spoke to him about it the 
last time he was home.” 

“ What did he say ? ” Lucia asked, with kind- 
ling eyes. 

, “Well, he wouldn’t allow, in the first place, 
that he was any better than ordinary folks, but he 
did say that any good there might be in him was 
due to the change he met with when he was a 
boy. He got kind of set on St. John the Baptist, 
and the way he held the world so light, and he 
has tried ever since, I believe, to live like him.” 

“ And he has succeeded wonderfully.” Lucia 


PEERESS AND PAUPERS 305 

Spoke softly as she watched the boys being seated 
around the tables. 

“For all he’s so much in earnest about these 
things, he’s not like the people that tire you with 
their religion. I never saw a boy so full of fun 
and energy. He’s always been the smartest young 
fellow in these parts, and there’s few that can 
match him in anything he tries to do.” 

Alan saw Mrs. Dixon talking more than her 
wont, and guessed that he was probably the sub- 
ject of her discourse, so he hastened to interrupt. 

“Are you not going to join us at lunch? ” he 
asked, addressing Fucia. 

“ I think I would enjoy listening to Mrs. Dixon, 
if you will excuse me,” she said, with a dimpling 
face. 

“ May I ask what she is saying that is so inter- 
esting? ” 

“ You should listen, and you will disprove a 
cynical old proverb.” 

“ You must not pay any attention to what Mrs. 
Dixon may say of me. I am all the boy she has, 
and she has been spoiling me ever since I can 
remember.” 

“ I do not think she has succeeded very well. 
It must be hard, Mrs. Dixon, to see your life’s 
work spoiled.” 

The worthy housekeeper looked mystified at 
Lucia’s remark. 


3o6 the master of deepeawn 

“You young folks are so quick I can’t keep the 
run of your talk very well, but this I can say, 
if I’ve spoilt him, it’s a pity I hadn’t a good many 
more to spoil.” 

“ Hear, hear ! ” Lucia said, clapping her hands. 
“ That is really a very brilliant speech.” 

After that they submitted to Alan’s guidance, 
and were soon engaged in demolishing the “ man- 
cook’s ” ices and other compositions. 


CHAPTER XXIV 


AN UNDERSTANDING 



ADY SEYMOUR was so w^ell content at 


J ' Deeplawn that she was not anxious to be- 
gin the westward tour just at once. They had 
planned to visit the wonderland of the Rockies, 
the dreamland of Southern California, the mag- 
nolia groves of the Carol inas, the marvels of 
Niagara, and the granite ribs of New England. 
Her ladyship cared little for the cities ; she had 
seen enough of their sin and poverty in her own 
land. It was nature, fresh and comparatively un- 
trodden, as it came from the hand of its Creator, 
that she was curious to look upon. To see this 
best Alan assured her it would be necessary to 
go across the border into the wildernesses of 
Canada. 

Every day she had all the lads come to Deep- 
lawn. Usually at evening, when their day’s work 
was done and the toil-stained garments exchanged 
for the Sunday best, they would come trooping 
through the lawns and gardens, looking as happy 
as if there did not lie behind them a childhood of 
want, or before them an uncertain future depend- 
ing on a young man’s will. They had all the 


3o8 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


happy unconsciousness of care natural to the 
young. 

hady Seymour would talk with them, some- 
times for an hour or more, suggesting plans for 
their future and often praying with them. She 
would earnestly warn them against the horrible 
vices and iniquities of many men, and urge them 
to avoid them as they would the most deadly 
poisons, when they should leave the shelter of 
Deeplawn. She had some peculiar ideas, the re- 
sults of much earnest thought and study, on sub- 
jects generally ignored, and was so pure and brave 
that she could speak to these youths frankly of the 
great perils and snares awaiting young manhood. 
She did not believe in leaving them to gain their 
knowledge first under all the glamour cast about 
gilded vice. Afterward, when too late, the glitter 
vanishes, but the death’s head remains. 

They started on their journeyings westward 
the first of September. The weather was very 
hot, the air close and dusty, but her ladyship was 
resolute. She had come to see this great country 
so rapidly overtaking, after two and a half cen- 
turies of existence, the older countries on the 
other side of the sea. She did not intend that a 
little heat should frighten her from her tour. 

They took frequent rests, always stopping in 
some quiet place where they could have plenty of 
breathing space. Alan had never traveled with 


AN UNDERSTANDING 


309 


ladies before, but he was as patient with their 
multitudinous wants as if he had been a pater- 
familias of a score of years’ standing. 

Lionel assured him he was enough to spoil 
womankind in general, his own mother and sisters 
in particular, but Alan only smiled. All the time 
he most devoutly wished it might be his lot to 
humor the fancies of one special bit of woman- 
kind as long as life lasted. 

He was by no means so hopeless a lover as he 
thought. The mother’s keen eyes had long ago 
discovered his secret and did not view it with dis- 
pleasure. She felt sure she could safely entrust 
her child’s future happiness to his hands, and 
was waiting with some impatience for an avowal 
of the love she well knew existed. At last Lionel 
was consulted, but he could say little, save to re- 
peat the conversation between himself and Alan 
immediately after that first visit to their London 
home, when Alan for the first time saw Lucia. 

“ You must have given him to understand, by 
that ambiguous expression, that it was useless for 
him to think of your sister ‘ other than as a 
friend,’ ” her ladyship said, anxiously. 

“ He need not ask my permission. I should 
think if he loved a girl it would be herself he 
would woo, not her brothers or uncles.” 

“You would view it just as he does if you were 
in his place. The ridiculous fellow no doubt 


310 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

thinks we would consider him not good enough 
for her because of his lack of rank.” 

“ Mother ! ” I^ionel could voice his feelings of 
dismay in that one word alone. Was it possible 
he had given his friend to understand this ? 

“What shall I do?” 

“ Ah, that is the question. One does not like 
to seem to force a confession. If Lucia could only 
understand — but there is not enough of the co- 
quette in her nature to help in the slightest, in a 
matter of this kind. We will wait awhile, and if 
it is for the best everything will come out right,” 

“ Things do not always come out right in cases 
of that kind, and Alan is so stout-hearted he will 
never give way. Really these heroic people are a 
trifle tiresome to get on with in every-day life. ” 
Lionel spoke somewhat impatiently. 

“ We have not found him wanting in any other 
matter,” his mother said gently. “We should 
not have found him so in this if he had rightly 
understood our friendship. What prigs he must 
take us to be, posing as philanthropists, and yet 
withholding from such a man as he must know 
himself to be, a chit of a girl like Lucia.” 

“You are a democrat, mother mine,” Lionel 
said, with a laugh that still did not conceal his 
discomfiture. 

After three weeks’ journeyings they had begun 
to weary of the magnificent distances of this new 


AN UNDERSTANDING 


31I 

world, and even I^ady Seymour’s courage grew 
faint when Alan assured her that they were as yet 
only beginning the tour she had mapped out. 

“ Some other time then, we will take the rest. 
We shall want to visit you again, and then per- 
haps you will take us under your care to complete 
the round.” 

“ I shall never be too busy to gladly drop every- 
thing and accompany you,” was the hearty reply. 

“ You may be married before that time, and 
your wife might object.” Her ladyship seemed a 
little nervous as she spoke. 

“ I do not expect to ever have a wife.” 

“ But why do you talk so rashly, may I ask ? 
Are you proof against such things, or are you too 
much of a philosopher to stoop to ask for a 
woman’s heart ? ” 

“ I might find that I must deny myself what I 
crave, because too high above my reach.” 

“Why use the word must? You have surely 
not fallen in love with a royal princess?” 

Her own heart was in a tremor as she spoke, 
almost as much so as if this were a love episode 
of her own ; but she was determined to set matters 
right though she might risk being called a match- 
maker. 

“It is not necessary to go so far as that, your 
ladyship, to dare too much.” 

“ You should not miss your life happiness for 


312 the master OE DEEPIvAWN 

want of a little courage, surely not in any case 
short of royal rank and obligations. Promise me 
you will at least make some effort to gain what 
you want.” Lady Seymour trembled at her own 
boldness as she spoke, but she nevertheless looked 
up unflinchingly at his bewildered face. 

“Would you be willing for me to ask your 
daughter’s hand in marriage?” he questioned, 
almost sternly. 

“ I should be quite satisfied to entrust my child 
to you — but I do not beg you for a son-in-law 
contrary to your own desires.” She blushed like 
a girl as she spoke. 

“ Dear Lady Seymour, there is no need to apolo- 
gize for what you have said. I knew long ago 
that you read my heart, — I believe mothers do 
that by instinct, — and I also knew that you for- 
gave me, since how could I help loving her ? But 
I did not dare believe that you would willingly 
consent to let her step down from her own rank 
to marry me, and I would have gone through life 
unblessed rather than ask for what you did not 
wish to give.” 

There were tears in Lady Seymour’s eyes, but 
she brushed them hastily aside. Alan did not 
know they were tears of thankfulness. 

‘'God bless you, my son.” She held out her 
hand, which he clasped for an instant and then 
raised reverently to his lips. “ I knew you were 


AN UNDERSTANDING 


3^3 


SO scrupulously honorable you would never speak 
unless I gave some sign that you were welcome 
to do so, but I felt almost as if I were offer- 
ing myself in marriage. I hope my next son- 
in-law won’t give me such a troublesome task to 
perform.” She was looking at him with such a 
proud mother-love in her face he did not think 
the task was causing her much trouble now. 

“I trust it may be the last unpleasant task I 
shall require at your hands,” he said, soberly. 
How seriously he seemed to take the great joy 
that had come to him ; for a great joy she knew 
it was by the face she had studied and learned to 
understand so well. “Shall we soon return to 
Deeplawn? I think you told me just now that 
you were getting tired of sight-seeing.” 

“We will turn homeward at once. You will 
let me call Deeplawn home?” 

“ If it could only be your home in reality ! But 
we must not ask for everything in this world.” 

“ I think if she consents to accept you she will 
be content with you alone, much as she loves us 
all ; for she has a true woman’s heart.” 

Alan looked as if this could not be possible, 
that he could fill the place of all the loved ones 
she had been with from childhood ; but if she 
would come to him, he knew, as far as his love 
could do it, he would make her content. 


CHAPTER XXV 


betrothal 

T hey turned their faces homeward, leaving 
their direct route only for Niagara Falls. 

“I may not live to come back to America,’’ 
Lady Seymour said, playfully, “ and I want, 
before I pass on to other worlds, to see as much of 
the magnificence of my native planet as possible.” 

“ I hope you may live long enough to go with 
us to Labrador on some of our hard-earned holi- 
days and see the mammoth waterfall hidden away 
there,” Alan said. 

“We never could take ladies over such a route ! ” 
Lionel expostulated. 

“ Certainly not until there is a railway to the 
spot, but if the accounts of those who have seen 
it are not exaggerated, some enterprising Yankee 
will undertake a railway there, probably in our 
lifetime. Summer excursionists are tiring of the 
beaten tracks. A trip like that would suit their 
jaded fancy admirably.” 

“You seem fond of suggesting, as well as at- 
tempting, the impracticable,” Lionel retorted. 

At Niagara a new experience was added to the 
already wide repertoire with which Lady Sey- 
314 


betrothal 


315 

mour was provided for her journeyiiigs to other 
worlds. She had, in her younger days, made an 
excursion to Iceland in her father’s yacht, to wit- 
ness the madcap pranks of nature there ; on the 
same trip had penetrated far inland on those Nor- 
wegian fiords ; later on had climbed the Alpine 
peaks and stood within the shadows of the Hima- 
layas. and of the Apennines ; but never had she so 
vividly realized our human powerlessness before 
nature’s uncurbed forces as when, in oiled suit, 
she followed her guide beneath the thunder of 
waters at Niagara. When they reached the hotel 
she lay down on the sofa exhausted. After a few 
moments’ silence, she said, reflectively : 

“ If our planet is ridiculously insignificant in 
size compared with some of the worlds hanging 
aloft, it is at least a wonderful piece of mechan- 
ism. We need not to be ashamed of our birth- 
place, do you think, if we compare notes with 
representatives from the stars when we reach the 
garden of God? One is not certain how they 
might regard such things there. I am apt to have 
all sorts of odd fancies when I lie awake at night,” 
she concluded, with a smile at her own foolish- 
ness. 

“ I seldom lie awake, but when I do it is not 
any such perplexities about the size of worlds that 
keeps me from sleeping.” 

“ Ah, Lucia, my child, the other world I know 


3i6 the master of deeplawn 

seems so far away from you now, you scarce give 
a thought how you shall appear there.” 

“ That has given me very many troubled 
thoughts, mamma ; but it is my own individual 
merits I am anxious about, not my position in 
that wonderful dwelling-place as a representative 
from our planet.” 

“ I believe you have distanced me in the argu- 
ment. NeverthelessJ"! am glad that I can indulge 
in justifiable pride of the world I was planted in. 
It is beautiful, beautiful ! ” she murmured, softly. 

lyucia looked anxiously at the thin, tired face, 
very glad that the restless, eager spirit was con- 
tent to turn homeward. She well knew her 
mother’s delicacy of health, and on her account 
had looked forward to this western journey with 
more of fear than pleasure. As she saw the 
white lids presently begin to droop, she beckoned 
to the others silently, when all save Maude with- 
drew, leaving her to keep guard while her mother 
slept. lyionel had letters to write and went to his 
room. For the first time since his conversation 
with Lady Seymour, Alan was left alone with 
Lucia. As they stood on the piazza looking out 
toward the waterfall, Alan said : 

“The first time I was here I found an excellent 
view of the rapids where one is not so deafened 
by the roar of the cataract. Will you come with 
me and see it? ” 


betrothal 


3^7 


‘‘ With pleasure. It seems a pity to lose a single 
glimpse of the wonderful scene. I feel like study- 
ing its changing moods all the time ; it grows 
upon me, I find, overwhelms me.” She shuddered 
slightly as she spoke. 

“ I like to come here occasionally. It affects 
me differently every time. Some day I may find 
the impression it gives will be the same. We 
cannot always continue to outgrow our emotions, 
I presume.” 

“ I have been wondering to-day how the un- 
clothed spirit would regard it — if, indeed, it would 
have any tangible existence for pure spirit. If so, 
and I were free, I should like to be in the midst 
of it, tossing and dashing in its mad play ; there 
could be no fear, only wild enjoyment, under such 
conditions.” 

‘ ‘ I am very glad you are not pure spirit, but a 
real flesh and blood maiden, walking beside me 
here.” 

“ Do you think that is a generous satisfaction? 
One might be so much happier in the spiritual 
state. ’ ’ 

“A whole eternity remains for that. There 
are experiences to be had here that I crave before 
death passes me on to the next world.” 

She did not reply, and for some time they 
walked on in silence. The point to which Alan 
was turning his steps lay some half-mile or more 


3i8 the master of deepeawn 

from the hotel, in the quieter part of Goat Island. 
He was content to be walking- in silence, since he 
knew, for an hour or two at least, they two would 
be alone together. When they had reached the 
spot kucia found a rustic seat, Alan threw him- 
self on the grass at her feet, and together they 
silently watched the foaming rapids sweeping by. 

“ When Lionel and I came here last month, for 
the first time in my life I gave a serious thought 
to the thousands of newly married people who 
have come here. Do you know, Lucia, I hoped 
the day might come when I too, should take my 
bride to some rare spot of earth, though it would 
be matter of supreme indifference to me whether 
it was one of the fairest or not, so long as the 
woman I loved was by my side — my wife.” Alan 
was somewhat direct in anything his heart was 
set upon, and Lucia was not to be wooed by de- 
grees. “Won’t it be better still to plight our 
troth here to-day? You must know my love for 
you. Do you not love me in return, and will you 
not take me for better or worse ? ’ ’ 

She looked down into the eager, imperious face 
of the man who was not even suing for her love 
in orthodox fashion, but seemed to claim it as his 
right. No other form of wooing would so well 
have suited her fancy, but she held her peace. 

“ Lucia, why don’t you speak? ” 

Her eyes fell before the look in his ; she was 


BKTROTHAI. 


319 


afraid they might tell him too soon what he 
wanted to know, what she had been afraid he 
might never know, and yet, with the perversity of 
her sex, was so slow to confess. “ Am I a co- 
quette?’^ flashed into her mind, as if spoken 
bodily. She turned her eyes once more to meet 
the eyes intently watching her, and was startled 
at the intense pain in their depths. She reached 
her hand to him. 

“ What do you want me to do ?” 

“ To be my wife, Lucia, my other better self.” 

“I can never be your better self, but ” 

she hesitated a moment and then added, archly, 
‘‘ I shall never be any other man’s wife.” 

He was holding her hand tightly as he stood 
now beside her. 

“ You will be content, Lucia, to be the mate of 
a common man, who can offer you nothing but a 
humble name and the truest love ? I do not for- 
get that Lionel told me you might one day be a 
duchess bearing a splendid, historic name — with a 
history reaching back a thousand years. ” 

“ I am going to marry a very uncommon man, 
better than any duke I ever knew. I shall not 
need to consider his ancestors, for he will be great 
enough for me without any help from them.” 

“We will not talk of greatness. I used to 
have my dreams, but none of them included such 
joy as this.” He was now standing quietly at her 


320 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


side. He smiled at her as he spoke, and then 
gazed reflectively across the boiling, turbulent 
river that rolled near by. 

“ He is not like other men,” Lucia thought, 
proudly. “He is self-contained, noble, always.” 
She was perfectly content to be standing there at 
his side in silence. She knew that he loved her 
as truly as one human being can love another, 
had loved her from the first, as she had loved him. 
What a grand life was open for them if God 
spared them to each other through the coming 
years ; not living selfishly, but continuing the 
work he had begun ; waiting for any task Gcd 
might appoint ; finding the crown of living in 
serving, not enjoying. 


CHAPTER XXVI 

MRS. DIXON’S SUGGESTIONS 

A ran found Lady Seymour awake when they 
returned, and considerably rested. He 
asked to see her alone, and Maude withdrew, look- 
ing somewhat mystified. 

“ Can anything be wrong?” she asked her sis- 
ter. “ Mr. Rivers came in with a very bright face 
and requested a private interview with mamma. 
Does he want to marry one of us? ” 

“ Mamma, I am sure, will tell you later on.” 

“ I do not think she will need to. Your face 
seems to have the same kind of expression that 
his had. He is no doubt a very fine man, person- 
ally, but for one who has had the refusal of a duke 
it does not strike me as a particularly brilliant 
offer.” 

“ He is worth a thousand of that little lisping 
creature.” Lucia’s cheeks were now very red. 

“Nevertheless any one in her senses would pre- 
fer the title.” 

“ I am ashamed of you, Maude. I never felt so 
honored in my life as when I learned that such a 
man as Alan Rivers saw something in me worth 
loving — that he wanted me with him forever.” 

V 321 


♦ 


322 the master ok deepeawn 

“You don’t say so!” was the half-mocking 
reply, as Maude swept a courtly bow. “ At least 
my preference for the duke has gained me a fair 
statement of what has happened.” And she 
laughed as she left the room. 

Alan, when he found himself alone with Lady 
Seymour spoke at once of what was uppermost in 
his mind. 

“ Lucia has consented to be my wife. Will you 
continue your superb kindness by giving me my 
wife very soon ? ” 

“ Ah, you take my breath away ! You must 
learn patience. Her father will not oppose you, I 
am certain, but he must be duly consulted. 
There are also the dressmakers and milliners, and 
all the train of people who deck our brides, whose 
help must be secured. 

“ I would be happy to take her in the gown she 
wears to-day. What do I care for the frippery ? 
It is herself I want.” 

“We could not let our daughter be married 
away from Wyndhurst ; that has been the rule of 
our house for some hundreds of years, and her 
father must give her away.” 

Alan bowed silently to the decision. Lady 
Seymour smiled. She liked his rugged wooing ; 
he was always true to himself, and in this, as in 
everything, his peculiar characteristics were ap- 
parent. 


MRS. DIXON’S SUGGESTIONS 323 

“ You will make it as early as possible when 
you return to England? I shall not spend any 
more time at the universities, at least not for some 
years. My life-work must begin now in earnest.” 

“ Have you decided to be a clergyman? ” 

“Yes.” 

“ Have you spoken to Eucia on the subject? 

“ No. Remember we were only betrothed an 
hour ago ; but Eucia will not object.” 

“I am sure she will think that whatever you 
wish is the best, for you will marry a friend as 
well as sweetheart.” 

“ Shall I have your promise to hasten it ? I 
have been alone so many years I am impatient.” 

“You may rest assured that I will place no un- 
necessary obstacles in your way ; but we must give 
our daughter a suitable wedding — the amenities 
of social life demand it.” 

Alan could not help wishing for more primitive 
customs, and remembered with some dismay the 
elaborate ceremony to which he must submit. 

They returned at once to Deeplawn, where they 
remained a week before leaving for England. Alan 
was to follow them later. The wedding day was 
set early in December, and the remainder of that 
year and part of the winter they were to spend on 
the continent. Eucia with her parents and sister 
had not only visited the principal points of in- 
terest in European travel, but had also turned 


324 "THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

aside from the beaten track and explored out-of- 
the-way places ; hence Alan could have no better 
guide. 

Mrs. Dixon was now perplexed over the ques- 
tion, if Alan was to become a minister on his re- 
turn where was he to find a church ? The little 
chapel at Deeplawn was surely not large enough 
to satisfy so energetic a worker. One evening 
when he had stepped into her sitting room to dis- 
cuss some business arrangement, she asked : 

“Will you live here after your marriage?” 

“ I shall certainly come here, but what my 
marching orders will be I do not know.” 

“ How in the world will you know unless you 
look a little sharp after it yourself? A preacher 
ought to have a church.” 

“ If it is necessary for me to have one, the church 
will be forthcoming, never fear. I have no more 
anxiety about it than the birds have about next 
year’s harvest.” 

“That seems to me a curious way to take 
things. I would say you ought to do something 
yourself.” 

“ That is what I have been busy at the last ten 
years, preparing for whatever work God may ap- 
point for me, in the meantime taking hold of any 
duty that presents itself as I go along, and not 
waiting for some great service that may never 
come to me. The wisest way I find, is to balance 


MRS. DIXON’S SUGGESTIONS 325 

each day’s accounts, as far as possible, at each day’s 
close.” 

“ I would like to see you settled at something 
definite. Now if you could get one of those great 
New York churches where there ’d be hundreds 
turned away every Sunday for want of room, and 
have your sermons put in the morning papers ! I 
don’ t want you to be one of the little, common 
kind of preachers that you scarcely hear men- 
tioned outside of their own church or neighbor- 
hood.” 

“ You think to be popular is a minister’s chief 
call ? ” Alan said. 

I want folks to know about you all over the 
country. There must be a few popular ones, and 
you have as good a chance as the best. I am 
sure you have had every opportunity ; and Tady 
Seymour says you have great ability, that there 
is only one here and there among the millions that 
is quite your equal ; but if you don’t try yourself, 
I’m afraid you’ll never be known.” 

“ I shall never try, you may be sure of that. It 
will not be myself that I shall preach or uplift, 
and it will not matter to me if my name never 
gets into the papers. Indeed, I should much pre- 
fer not to have it mentioned. I have other work 
to do. God helping me I shall keep my heart free 
from such vanities.” 

Mrs. Dixon’ face wore a very dissatisfied ex- 


326 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

pression. In some ways Alan was a very disap- 
pointing individual. She had never before, since 
he was a lad, so far interfered in his affairs ; but 
she had an instinctive feeling that she might criti- 
cise him as a preacher, since that is a privilege 
people generally take. For Alan, the martyrdom 
of criticism would be harmless, as it might be for 
all preachers. 

“ It is of no use talking to him,” she grumbled, 
after the door had closed between them. ‘ ‘ He’s 
that masterful about what he calls duty, one 
might as well talk to a post. Anyway, I guess 
his wife will be ambitious for him, and wives can 
persuade when no other living creature can. Be- 
sides, since she’s a great lady, it will help him 
powerfully. There’s a sight of attention paid to 
birth and money in the churches as well as out of 
them.” Mrs. Dixon breathed a sigh of relief as 
she reflected on this, and presently dismissed her 
anxieties about Alan’s popularity as a preacher 
from her mind. 


CHAPTER XXVII 


THE GREAT DEEP 

A EAN had many tasks planned for the weeks 
intervening between their return to Deep- 
lawn and his marriage. The interior of the house 
had undergone but little change in five and 
twenty years. Everything was now old-fashioned. 
Though the furniture was originally of the best 
material and workmanship, and in an excellent 
state of preservation, yet even Alan could not 
help thinking that Lucia might reasonably ex- 
pect an entire renovation of the house. The 
choicest upholstery on the continent would not 
suit his fancy half so well as the old-fashioned 
furniture that he remembered from childhood, 
but with Lucia it might be different. 

He regretted the money it would take to do this. 
The amount necessary to furnish it throughout 
would build and fit a house in the West large 
enough to lodge a score of boys. At last he de- 
cided to submit his perplexities to Lucia. They 
were alone in the library when he made his ex- 
planation. She listened silently while he was 
speaking, he wishing meanwhile that she would 
make some suggestion since he feared that she 

327 


328 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

might not understand his motives and think it 
was lack of respect that led him to bring his bride 
to Deeplawn without making even such prepara- 
tions for her home-coming as one of less dignity 
might reasonably expect. He paused for a mo- 
ment and said then deprecatingly : 

“ If I have pained you with my apparent lack of 
generosity, I want you to forgive me. I have not 
the refined tastes that your husband should have ; 
you have a rough blundering fellow to deal with ; 
but I want you to train me mercilessly. I will 
try to do your bidding, to anticipate your every 
wish.’’ 

There was a rueful, pleading look on the hand- 
some face that was intently studying her varying 
expression. 

“ I will never train you. Rather I will do all 
in my power to keep you just as you are. I do 
not want my husband to be a conventional carpet- 
knight. In regard to refurnishing this house, I 
like it much better as it is, old-fashioned and 
homelike, with memories of your boyhood about 
it. I sit thinking that it was here you indulged 
your youthful dreams and ambitions in which I 
bore no part, and now you care more for me than 
for all else. Is not that so ? ” 

She looked np at him a little doubtfully, as if 
even yet she could hardly believe that she had 
the first place in his heart. His answer reassured 


THE GREAT DEEP 329 

her, although he was not much given to protesta- 
tions or caresses. 

“ I do not know if mamma has told you that I 
have a fortune in my own right from my god- 
mother.’’ 

“It has never occurred to me whether you 
owned a dollar. I have not even thought of 
marriage settlements or money in connection 
with you.” 

She smiled at the indifference with which he 
spoke of what would have been of very consider- 
able interest to the generality of men. 

“ I am glad for your sake that I have money. 
We can do so much more to further your benevo- 
lent plans.” 

“ Your money must be left in your own coun- 
try. I wish to support my wife to the last dollar 
— to have her all my own.” 

“We won’t trouble ourselves about it now ; suf- 
ficient to the future are the perplexities that may 
come.” 

Alan did, however, fit up the suite of rooms spe- 
cially appropriated for his bride, following his own 
instincts, to the surprise of the work-people who 
came to execute his orders. There was nothing 
conventional about it, but when the work was 
completed, and they surveyed their labor as a 
whole, they honestly acknowledged that the 
blending of colors, and the effect of the differ- 


330 the master of deeplawn 

ent articles of furniture showed a finer artistic 
effect than they could achieve. 

“You would make your fortune in no time at 
furnishing,” the foreman said, admiringly. “ I 
tell you, sir, brains make their mark everywhere.” 

Alan look around the remodeled rooms and 
concluded something had made them different 
from the average, but was not aware if it were 
superior brains or loving care that had wrought 
the harmony. 

This task completed he started for the West, 
taking James Ivongman with him, for he wished 
to settle the colony of boys on which his heart 
had been so long set, and for which he had denied 
himself many a luxury. He had secured a large 
tract of wild land, and soon completed his plans 
for buildings, and for laying out the estate. Long- 
man, who had a natural faculty for carpentering, 
was installed master builder. They did not seek 
for much effect ; utility and comfort were what 
they desired. Hence expensive workmen were 
not needed. 

Alan often detected himself painting rose- 
colored pictures of this place in his imagination, 
as he attempted to look into the future. Young 
men and maidens were to grow up here to strong, 
pure careers, who otherwise would be useless drift- 
wood on life’s current. The life God had given 
to him seemed as complete and rich as he could 


THE GREAT DEEP 


331 


wish. Work was his- that angels might covet, 
opportunities for splendid service were stretching 
out in the coming years ; his life as a whole 
was divinely ordered, yet in perfect harmony with 
his own desires ; and the woman he loved was 
waiting for him to claim her. He used to pause 
beside the workmen — rough, unkempt fellows 
some of them were — and wonder why he had so 
much more than they, a great pity filling his 
heart because they and all mankind could not 
enjoy similar gifts ; but he hoped that in some 
other life they might not lag so far behind their 
fellows. 

Matters satisfactorily arranged here, he went to 
New York, setting sail at once for Wyndhurst, 
where already grand preparations had been begun 
for the approaching marriage. 

The voyage proved a stormy one from the 
beginning. The November skies were leaden the 
day they started, and the huge steamship seemed 
to groaif remonstrance against fronting the mighty 
billows the stormy Atlantic can roll up. Alan 
was one of the few passengers able to keep his 
feet. After a day or two there was on each face, 
from the commander to the smallest cabin boy, an 
expression of anxiety, although they were well 
used to these tumultuous moods of the sea at this 
season. 

Alan used to station himself in some compara- 


332 the master of deeplawn 

tively safe part of the deck and watch the weird 
scene about him, while he reflected on the millions 
of human beings whom the sea had engulfed since 
the first voyager ventured his life thereon, some- 
times wondering anxiously, if his fate should be 
like theirs would the work that he had planned 
with such care go on? Would Lucia, after a 
natural period of grieving, wed some other man ? 
Such a course would be perfectly natural, since 
men and women in all conditions of life are wont 
to do this, even after marriage has made them 
one. Would she one day be a duchess, bringing 
to her work in the by-ways of the world the 
splendor of her high position and historic name ? 
It was not a pleasant train of thought, this of 
fancying Lucia another man’s wife while he lay 
forgotten in the awful depths of this merciless sea. 
From such reveries he would start for a hasty 
inspection of the weather, perhaps waylaying 
some official for a few brief words, but these were 
not reassuring. 

So the time wore on until one night he was 
wakened from dreams of home and boyhood by 
the sudden cessation of the ship’s machinery. 
He well knew what that meant. 

He dressed quickly, but carefully. His night 
lamp had been kept burning several nights in case 
of some such emergency. There was unusual 
commotion on deck, hurrying feet, and the loud, 


THK GREAT DEEP 


333 


sharp command that could be heard above the 
roar of the tempest. Alan hesitated for a 
moment as he was strapping on his life-preserver, 
since it might mean only a lingering agony if he 
lay floating on the billows. 

“ I will live as long as I can, every hour of life 
adds so much to my chances for rescue,” he said 
half aloud, as he buckled the last strap securely. 

Leaving his stateroom fully equipped for either 
a tussle with the ocean or a lingering waiting on 
a crowded boat, he went at once on deck. Stew- 
ards and stewardesses were passing swiftly from 
room to room, rousing any who might be sleeping, 
and calling all to make immediate preparation for 
the boats. He found on reaching the deck that 
there would be room for all in the boats. There 
were many pale faces gathering on the deck, but 
most of the passengers belonged to the class early 
trained to self- repression, and consequently held 
themselves under good control. But a close 
observer could detect the same passion of fear in 
the rigid muscles and ashen cheek as in the loud 
lamentations of others. 

The huge steamship was slowly settling in the 
trough of the sea. Her shaft was broken, and her 
hull so injured that no skill of the carpenters and 
engineers could remedy it sufficiently for her to 
continue her contest with the elements. Mingled 
with anxieties for himself and fellow-passengers 


334 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


Alan felt a sensation akin to pity for the vessel 
that had fought so bravely, but was now being 
slowly swallowed by the greedy sea. As he 
watched her slowly settling, he questioned a pas- 
senger who stood beside him, gloomily surveying 
the scene. Across the stormy waves a line of gray 
light was glimmering in the east, foregleam of a 
day that might be their last on earth. 

“ Is there any chance for safety in one of 
those? ” Alan pointed to the boats which the sea- 
men were preparing to lower. 

“ It is the only chance. Before the sun com- 
pletes one-half its journey across the sky to-day, 
this ship will be a hundred fathoms below the 
surface.” He shuddered as he spoke. “ But I 
would rather go down in her than face that turbu- 
lent swell in those cockle shells. It is death in 
any case, but one will be short and sharp, and I 
prefer that.” 

“ If we must go down, it matters little as to the 
way,” Alan said calmly. 

“ I see you are one of the religious kind. They 
usually take these things calmly. I have had 
experience in them. I have been shipwrecked 
before.” 

“ I am glad you can bear such good testimony 
to their courage. Is it not strange that with your 
experience you are not one yourself? ” 

‘‘ Yes.” The answer came with a groan. 


THE GREAT DEEP 


335 


Alan forgot the extremity of his own case as he 
reasoned with his companion, urging him, then 
and there, to yield his will, his entire being, to 
God. 

“ It is too late,” was the one despairing cry. 

By this time all the boats but two had been 
lowered, and the crew came now to the boat near 
which Alan had been quietly standing. He did 
not know, because of the confusion, whether all 
the boats on the other side of the vessel had got- 
ten off safely, but knew that some had succeeded. 
There remained on board only enough sailors to 
man the two boats, a group of the most timid and 
perhaps the very bravest of the passengers, and 
the gallant chief officers ; in all, no more than the 
two boats could easily hold. Excellent discipline 
had been preserved, and the steamer had settled 
so slowly that there had been plenty of time for 
the embarkation. 

“ It is of no use for them to try, they might as 
well stay here and all go down together,” the 
gentleman by Alan’s side said, hopelessly. 

“ I shall fight for my life to the last moment of 
conscious existence,” Alan said, as his keen eye 
watched the rapid movements of the men and 
noted their rough skill. 

When the supplies had been put in and the 
boat swung out on the davits, the seamen took 
their places at the oars and the last of the passen- 


336 the master of deeplawn 

gers were called to get in. But the timid ones 
hesitated. Women, some of whom had scarcely 
been allowed to feel a rough wind, shrank back 
with terror, while even men grew pale as they 
looked first at the frail boat and then at the wild 
waves. 

Alan then stepped forward, and with encourag- 
ing words seconded the officers’ efforts to get the 
little group, chiefly of women, safely into the 
boat. Among them was a stout lady who had 
been bewailing her fate in a stentorian voice at 
intervals, and a pale-faced little woman who had 
been perfectly silent from the first. She faced 
the appalling spectacle with a shuddering, in- 
drawn breath, but gave no other sign. Several 
additional life-preservers had been thrown into the 
boat, along with the canned meats, biscuits, and 
kegs of water. As soon as she was seated in the 
boat, the stout lady chanced to see the life-pre- 
servers, and instantly begged to have an additional 
one strapped about her voluminous person. She 
had loaded herself well with jewelry and her cargo 
was valuable, even if her individual self would 
be little missed. Alan waited until there were 
no more who would enter that boat, and at the 
last moment, before he climbed in himself, made 
one more effort to persuade the man with whom 
he had been talking, to go also ; but he and a few 
others were determined to stay with the steamer. 


THE GREAT DEEP 


337 


The boat was safely lowered, and then the last 
of the crew and officers rushed to the other boat 
and were quickly off. 

They were making every effort now to get as 
far as possible from the ship, which was sinking 
more rapidly. The day was breaking, so that 
when the boat was lifted on the crest of a wave, 
they could quite distinctly see the figures still 
grouped on the deck, who had elected to remain 
with the ship. Alan fancied he could see them 
beckoning the boats to return for them ; perhaps 
too late they had concluded there might be a pos- 
sibility of escaping and were anxious to try their 
chances with the rest. He begged the sailors to 
return and take all that their boat could safely 
carry, but his request was received in silence. 
Again he urged, when one of the men said : 

“ It’s too late, sir. They’ve had their chance, 
and we’d only all on us get swamped.” 

The stout lady shrieked with terror, while Alan, 
disheartened, watched for every glimpse possible 
of his late fellow-voyagers. The boat was sud- 
denly tossed more fiercely than ever, while the 
sailors barely kept her from overturning. 

“ I guess that’s the sea that took the steamer 
down,” one of them said, when the worst of the 
danger was over ; and sure enough, when they rose 
on the next wave there was nothing to be seen 
but the sky and the sea. Alan urged the crew to 
w 


338 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

go back, for possibly some might come again to 
the surface, buoyed up by their life-preservers. 

“It’s no use,” an old tar said, moodily. 
“ They’ll all be drowned before they see daylight 
again, the ship’ll carry them so far down with 
her. The suction’s powerful strong when a big 
steamship goes down, I can tell ye.” 

“We can at least go and see,” Alan said. 

The boat was turned carefully and they pro- 
ceeded toward the spot, but nothing could be 
seen. The day grew clearer. Across the waters 
a few gleams of sunshine were stealing, while the 
wind certainly was blowing less furiously. 

“ Why don’t you row for land ? ” the stout lady 
said, querulously. “ What’s the use beating round 
in one spot ? ” 

“Well, ma’am, for one reason we’re about a 
thousand miles from land, near as I can make 
out, and us fellers ’d find that a pretty longish 
row, specially in this sea.” The sailor grinned as 
he spoke. 

A scream of despair was her only reply. 

“ Never you fret, lady. We’re in the track of 
the winter steamers. If we can hold on for a day 
or two, some of ’em’ll maybe pick us up.” 

“You don’t mean to say you are going to keep 
us in this nasty little boat all that time? ” 

“ Not ag’in yer will, madame. We’ll h’ist ye 
overboard whenever ye gives the word.” 


THE GREAT DEEP 


339 


The lady searched for her pocket handkerchief, 
but it had been left behind. 

“ Whatever shall I do ? All my good clothes 
are gone too. What shall I do when I get to 
land?” 

“ It’s my opinion yer standin’ a poor chance of 
gettin’ there. Appearances is that ye’ll be a fol- 
lerin’ of yer good clothes afore many days.” 

“ Oh, you dreadful creature ! Didn’t you tell 
us a steamer was coming this way ? ’ ’ 

“ Maybe them that’s out has all gone down like 
our own. In that case we’ll hev to wait till some 
others start from shore. By that time ye’ll hev 
fretted yerself to death, and may be we’ll have 
et ye, bein’ as vittels ain’t none too plentiful.” 

The stout lady moaned despairingly, but Alan 
interposed to comfort her. At eight o’clock food 
was handed around. Only one tin cup had been 
supplied, but even the most fastidious gladly took 
their turn. 

“It is like a love-feast, only we do not have the 
experiences. ’ ’ It was the little gentle-faced woman 
who spoke, while she smiled as cheerfully as if 
they were a picnic party out on a quest for 
pleasure. 

“ Haven’t you any one to fret about you if you 
should never be heard from?” the stout lady in- 
quired, 

“Yes, my husband in India would grieve, and 


340 THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

my four children in America would miss a moth- 
er’s love and prayers, but whatever happens will 
be all right.” She smiled placidly as she spoke, 
as if it were all life, here or in other worlds, and 
it mattered little where one might be as long as 
they were about God’s work. 

Alan now took his Bible from his pocket, and 
for an hour or more read from its pages and talked 
to his little audience of less than a dozen, more 
earnestly perhaps than he had ever done to any 
audience in his life. Even the sailors sometimes 
leaned on their oars to listen. Then he relieved 
one of the sailors at the oars. The man lay down 
wearily and was soon fast asleep in the bottom of 
the boat. At noon the food was again passed 
around, but there was little eaten, except by the 
men at the oars. 

The short day began to wane. Although well 
supplied with wraps, all save the rowers were blue 
with the cold, while the weary faces that looked 
out over the tossing sea were sufficient to dis- 
hearten the most cheerful. Now and then a quav- 
ering hymn broke from the lips of the little lady. 
They had all exchanged names, and acquainted 
each other with their places of abode. Her name 
was Manning. She and her husband were mission- 
aries, who had been home on furlough. He had 
gone to England a few weeks before, on the jour- 
ney to his field of toil, but she had remained in 


THE GREAT DEEP 


341 


America with her children as long as possible. 
She was leaving them with her parents and was 
naturally a little heavy-hearted at the long separa- 
tion that must ensue before she would see them 
once more. 

The night closed in thickly about them. Alan 
changed his place and took a seat beside the brave 
little missionary, whose courage showed no signs 
of faltering. Screening her as well as he could 
from the wind, he drew the tired head against his 
arm, and in a little while was glad to find that she 
had forgotton her sorrows in the blessed oblivion 
of sleep. The night wore on, as the longest nights 
are wont to do, until the dark hour just before 
the dawn, when all, save the men at the oars, 
were nodding on their seats. 

Suddenly a cry startled them : “ Ship ahoy ! ” 

In an instant the drowsiest was wide-awake and 
joining the general call for help as the huge steam- 
ship came steadily toward them. Their cries were 
unheard as they might have known they would 
be in the sob and swell of wind and sea and the 
creaking of the ship’s machinery. The boat was 
caught in the swell caused by the vessel, as she 
forged steadily past them, forcing the men at the 
oars to increased activity to save themselves from 
being engulfed. 

Alan’s courage began to fail him, while life had 
never seemed so precious as now. The men set- 


342 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


tied doggedly to their oars and for some time there 
was unbroken silence. When the day broke each 
was shocked at the haggard appearance of his 
fellow-voyagers. Mrs. Paxton, the stout lady, had 
collapsed utterly and lay a disheveled heap on a 
pile of rugs, but Mrs. Manning bore up cheerily. 
Even the sailors, inured to the dangers of the sea, 
seemed to draw courage from her. 

Precisely on the hour, Alan passed around the 
food which he called breakfast. All partook ex- 
cept Mrs. Paxton. She had reached that speech- 
less state of misery not far removed from loss of 
reason. Another day began to wear away. From 
certain symptoms the little company began to 
grow uneasy about Mrs. Paxton. Although ap- 
parently so full of robust health she was standing 
the strain the poorest of any. Another night’s 
exposure might extinguish the flame of life that 
was already flickering feebly. 

The sea was comparatively calm now, the No- 
vember sun shining quite brilliantly, and every 
eye, save Mrs. Paxton’s, was scanning the far hori- 
zon for signs of steamship or sailing vessel. Sev- 
eral times on the distant rim dividing sea and sky 
they saw white sails dipping out of sight. Four 
o’clock was on them. Soon night would close in, 
another dreary night, worse than the last because 
their strength was farther spent. Even the little 
missionary grew faint-hearted. 


THE GREAT DEEP 


343 


Suddenly, up from the world of waters, another 
steamship loomed, and oh, joy ! their boat lay in 
her track. Alan was the tallest in the boat. The 
rowers held her as steadily on the course as possi- 
ble, while he stood in the prow holding up an oar 
with a rug fastened to it, as high as he could 
reach. How feverishly they watched the sun sink- 
ing low toward the horizon and the on-coming 
steamship ! Which would travel fastest? If not 
seen before sunset, the twilight was so short they 
would scarcely be noticed, a little darkening speck 
on the wide, dim sea. Mrs. Manning quickly saw 
that they must have a white signal. 

“How shall we get one?” Alan asked, anx- 
iously. 

A faint tinge crept into the wan cheek, but she 
said bravely : “I put on my dress over my night- 
dress. I will give you that.” 

Soon her snowy garment was spread. It had 
not swung from the oar five minutes when a puff 
of smoke burst from the ship’s side, and a little 
later the glad reverberation struck their ears. 

“ Was there ever such music as that in all the 
world?” Mrs. Manning said, bursting into tears. 

“ Ye needn’t fret now, you dear little woman. 
It was you that saved us all,” a rough sailor 
said, with a quiver in his voice. The steamer 
was bearing swiftly down upon them, but Alan 
still swung his signal aloft, until an answering flag 


344 MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 

was unfurled, which the seamen knew meant cer- 
tain rescue. The sun was dipping out of sight. 
Would the daylight last until they were rescued ? 

Mrs. Manning had dried her eyes and was watch- 
ing the ship with a pink glow on the pinched 
face. The sailors did not know it was gratitude 
to her all-powerful Father that had caused that 
burst of weeping. It had eased her full heart, 
and now she could have sung for very gladness, 
only she was so chilled and faint. 

Mrs. Paxton was aroused sufficiently to raise 
her head and emit deep groans at frequent inter- 
vals, while she watched the shadows of evening 
settling between them and deliverance. 

“ However am I to get hoisted up into the 
ship?” she questioned, plaintively. 

“ That’ll be the easiest of our troubles if once 
we get near enough to give you a pull,” a sailor 
responded, cheerfully. Presently the steamer’s 
whistles began to blow. 

“ That’ll make us safe if it gets pitch dark. It 
don’t make the leastest odds which on us finds 
t’other as long’s it’s done,” a dark-browed sailor 
remarked, complacently. 

Presently they were close enough to see that the 
huge black hull was waiting motionless for them 
in mid-ocean. Here was human life in peril, and 
nowhere does life seem more precious than to the 
toilers on the sea. 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 


THE END 

W HEN Alan reached New York, for the res- 
cuing steamer was westward bound, he 
cabled at once to Wyndhurst. The day that was 
to have been his wedding day was spent at sea, 
but he managed to preserve an outward calm, al- 
though his spirit fretted at the pain and suspense 
his absence must be causing. Mrs. Manning de- 
cided to re-embark with him on the next steamer, 
but Mrs. Paxton had assured them all a good 
many times each day that no money could tempt 
her to brave an Atlantic voyage again, unless in 
midsummer. 

The second trip was so stormy that even Mrs. 
Manning used to scan the seamen’s faces and the 
sky with evident anxiety, but they reached Liver- 
pool in good time. Alan, without a moment’s 
delay, hastened to Wyndhurst. The wedding feast 
would be stale by this time, but so much the bet- 
ter if thereby he might escape the infliction of a 
grand wedding. Indeed, he would not hold ship- 
wrecks an unmitigated evil if they procured that 
gain. 

He was received as one alive from the dead. 

345 


346 THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 

Lucia had endeavored to be brave, but had suf- 
fered severely from the days of suspense. Lady 
Seymour hovered around, and mothered him so 
tenderly he assured her it would be worth while to 
have periodic escapes from similar dangers to en- 
joy such tender solacement. To his dismay he 
found that the marriage state was to be in no wise 
abated. 

He breathed a sigh of relief when at last all 
the grand display of silks and laces, precious 
stones and costly viands, had passed into history, 
and he and Lucia were permitted to start out alone 
to take the honeymoon that married lovers look 
back upon in after years. He had met all the 
great people of the country, the wide circle of 
relatives whom the clergyman’s words had made 
his own, and was received by them with a charm- 
ing cordiality, not altogether due to the fact that 
he was Lady Seymour’s son-in-law. 

The young couple were back in London the 
last of the winter, Lucia quite as anxious as Alan 
to get home to Deeplawn, to take up in earnest 
their life-work together. All sorts of dire predic- 
tions were made by their friends as to the misfor- 
tunes that would befall them if they ventured to 
cross the ocean in March, bnt the trip was phe- 
nomenally calm. 

Extensive preparations for their home-coming 
were being made at Deeplawn. Wedding presents 


THE END 


347 


of every conceivable shape and variety were being 
manufactured, and suitable wearing apparel was 
being secured, in which the donors were to per- 
sonally present their offerings. 

The day they arrived was one of those inspiring 
ones March happily mixes in with its storms — 
bright sunshine, with the wind blowing from the 
northwest, with exquisite cloud-forms floatrng like 
joyous, living things across the blue dome, their 
shadows sweeping hillside and sea. 

They came in the train which reached Deep- 
lawn station in mid-afternoon. Every one of 
Alan’s tenants old enough to leave the cradle, with 
all his boys from far and near, was waiting to do 
him honor. Even Mrs. Dixon unbent from her 
usual aloofness so far as to make one in the com- 
pany of his employees and beneficiaries. 

Lucia responded with a cordial grace that 
* charmed them all, to their friendly overtures. 
There were many shining faces and bright eyes 
in the gathering. Every lad was prepared to wel- 
come and love the new mistress of Deeplawn 
equally with its master. 

A grand feast had been prepared by Mrs. Dixon 
and her staff, in which she had been ambitious to 
outshine the chef of the previous year, and 
Lucia’s warm encomiums at the close of the feast 
left her nothing further to desire. 

After a short stay at Deeplawn, the spirit of un- 


THE MASTER OF DEEPLAWN 


348 

rest, or rather, longing to be in real work, drew 
Alan to the West. When he reached Riverbank, 
the name the boys had chosen for their home, 
he found his presence was sorely needed. James 
lyongman had been absent only a few weeks, but 
in that time the seeds of disloyalty had been quite 
widely sown. The man left in charge was pos- 
sessed of an unfortunate temperament, although 
in every other respect admirably suited for the 
position. 

Alan was quick to decide in such matters. The 
individual was sacrificed at once for the general 
good. He had no false views of mercy, since he 
believed in the wisdom of seeking the greatest 
good of the greatest number. This made him 
slow to work with large numbers in any enter- 
prise. He believed that incompetent persons 
were too often retained in positions for which 
they were wholly unqualified because of false 
pity or personal influence. Lucia was amazed 
at the swiftness, as well as clearness of his judg- 
ments. Even when he impressed her as being 
stern, she was still confident that he was right. 

Before long she was fully as enthusiastic as he 
over this Western enterprise, which was restored 
to prosperity by Alan’s securing a suitable super- 
intendent, and was beginning to think that the 
work here and at Deeplawn, including the settle- 
ment in life of all these boys and girls and the 


THE END 


349 


supervision of the extensive properties, was quite 
enough for any man ; but as the months wore on 
she found that Alan was not reasonable in the 
amount of work he planned for himself. 

“We should call you a merciless taskmaster if 
it were another than yourself that you compelled 
to work so hard,” she said to him once, by way of 
remonstrance. 

“It is because so many are idle that the few 
must bear heavy burdens ; besides, we can pass 
this way but once. That thought makes life tre- 
mendously solemn to me.” 

“And yet you seem joyous in your work. I 
never saw any one more so.” 

“ I can only be content when working to my 
utmost. You are not tired of a working-man for 
your husband? You knew what I was, Lucia, 
when you took me ‘ for better, for worse. ' I hope 
you are not finding it has been for worse. ” There 
was anxiety and pain in both face and voice as he 
stood looking down so tenderly into her sweet face. 

“ It has been all for better. I would not have you 
different from what you are, not the very slightest, 
if I could.” She turned and kissed the hand 
pressing lightly on her shoulder. 

“Then we are supremely happy. Should we 
not give much when so much has been given 
us? ” 

“ Yes.” The answer was uttered softly. Some- 


350 the master of deeplawn 

times IvUcia felt as if Christ himself were speaking 
to her in some mysterious way through her hus- 
band’s words. She certainly knew that he dwelt 
farther within the divine presence than any one 
she ever knew. 

Sometimes he came to her with a perplexed 
look on his face, and always at such times with 
an open letter in his hand. She grew at last to 
understand the token — some pastorless church 
was seeking him for its minister. Now it was a 
fashionable city church that offered as inducement 
a large salary ; and then a run-down charge desir- 
ing a brilliant preacher to fill its empty pews ; or 
occasionally a mission chapel, to which had come 
rumors of his wealth and work, besought him to 
come to its relief. Unfortunately there were so 
many messages of this kind, he concluded Provi- 
dence had nothing to do in the matter, but was 
calling him to a new work of his own. 

lyucia was first consulted and later on Uady 
Seymour, both of whom gave him hearty encour- 
agement in the enterprise. The thought had been 
slowly developing in his mind that more might 
be accomplished if he became pastor and patron 
of his own mission, drawing around him a band of 
helpers who would be responsible to himself alone, 
although walking in conjunction with an estab- 
lished church. -He planned to have his church 
self-supporting if possible ; neither was it to be the 


THE, END 


351 


church of the rich or of the poor exclusively, but 
rather a meeting-place where the different classes 
could learn their common brotherhood and impart 
to each other their varied experiences and views 
of life’s meanings and aims. 

Three years saw this dream partly realized, and 
promising to become the most successful enter- 
prise that he had yet attempted. The modest 
chapel on a quiet street in the great city had 
been outgrown, and a massive down-town church 
that had been kept in operation by its congrega- 
tion at a ruinous cost, considering what it was ac- 
complishing, had been rented for a term of years, 
and in due time a large and influential churcli 
keeping the New Testament order, was estab- 
lished, whose power was ever increasing. 

Deeplawn was still the real home of Alan and 
Lucia, although modest apartments had been rented 
near to the church. These were made the headquar- 
ters for the work generally. All their plans were 
made here, while workers who needed a few days’ 
rest found it a happy asylum in which to recu- 
perate their energies, expended in that most ex- 
hausting work, wrestling with the sins and weak- 
nesses of the dark places of a great city. 

The long vacated nursery at Deeplawn echoed 
again to the merry shouts of childish voices. 
Another Rex and his baby brother Alan had 
started on their long journey through the eterni- 


352 


THE MASTER OF DEEPEAWN 


ties. The father, as he looked into the innocent 
face of his first-born, would ask himself : Was there 
any possibility of this little lad making shipwreck 
of life as that other Rex had done ? To save him 
from that he would gladly see the white lids close 
in the sleep of death ; but he did not fear such a 
fate for his boy. With God’s help, he and his 
noble wife, loved more than when led as a bride 
to the altar, hoped to train their own and many 
another child to lives of noble Christian service. 
For this he lived and labored, and in such work 
he found a joy divine. 


THE END 







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